97

Just a quickie before I head off for vacation, but this is too good not to report. Scott Podsednik singled to center with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning to score pinch-runner Gordon Beckham for a 6-5 White Sox win over the Dodgers. Paul Konerko, for whom Beckham was running, smacked a solo home run in the 5th inning, and A.J. Pierzynski pounded a three-run shot in the 6th.

Clayton Richard lasted only 4.1 innings and gave up four earned runs. (If and when Bartolo Colon gets healthy, Richard may not be long for the rotation.) The bullpen combined to pitch 8.2 innings without allowing an earned run. There was one unearned run, but that's par for the course given the leaky defense the Sox have been playing lately. Mazel Tov to Aaron Poreda, who picked up his first career win after throwing an inning of scoreless ball in the top of the 13th. Poreda is Pure Pitching Perfection: a 1.000 winning percentage and 0.00 ERA for his career.

Detroit beat the sCrUBS by the same 6-5 score, so the Sox remain 6.0 games behind. The Magic Number does drop by one to 97. And now, as the Thing used to say, "It's clobberin' time!" The Crosstown Series picks up at the Cell with games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A sweep would be sweet. Go Sox!