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They're not dead yet, folks. The White Sox refused to die last night after trailing the Mariners in Seattle 3-0. A.J. Pierzynski singled with two out in the seventh inning to plate the tying and go-ahead runs. A.J. was 3 for 5 on the night and was joined by Scott Podsednik (2 for 4), Paul Konerko (2 for 3 plus a walk), Chris Getz (2 for 4), and Alexei Ramirez (3 for 4 while batting ninth) in racking up a multi-hit game.

Freddy Garcia, who looked like a desperation acquisition, contributed his fifth Quality Start in a row. Freddy's line of 6 IP, 3 R, 7 H wasn't great, but it was good enough to give the Sox a chance to win. And for a change, the bullpen didn't squander the opportunity. Octavio Dotel (0.2 IP) and Matt Thornton (1.1 IP) gave up no runs to earn holds, while Bobby Jenks (1.0 IP) shut out the M's to pick up his 29th save.

Speaking of pitching, Jake Peavy will make his White Sox debut on Saturday against the Royals at the Cell. Think the Sox are holding him back while on the road so they can sell more tickets at home? Anyway, Jake says he's not 100% but he's ready to go. We'll see in three days.

The win, combined with the Tigers' loss, leaves the Sox 5.5 games behind Detroit (and 1.0 games back of Minnesota) in the Central Division race. The Good Guys have six games left against the Tigers, but there's very little margin for error, as Detroit's Magic Number vis-a-vis the Sox is down to 13. The Tigers do have a nine-game road trip coming up after they play the next two games with the Royals at home. They're an outstanding 47-25 at Comerica Park, but a lousy 30-42 away from the Motor City, where they'll play three each at Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Cell. The Sox, in turn, play two more in Seattle and then come home -- where they're 40-32 -- to play three games each against the Royals (28-42 on the road), Twins (31-40), and Tigers. In the words of Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber, "So you're telling me there's a chance .... Yeah." Go Sox!