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After beating Cleveland on Opening Day, the White Sox lost five straight games to the Tribe before last night's 7-2 victory. Part of being a good team, which the Sox still think they can be, is taking advantage of the weak sisters of the division, like the 16-27 Indians. So yesterday was a good start on the rest of the season.
The Good Guys broke out the bats again, this time collecting 14 hits. Each starter, except for Paul Konerko, hit safely, and five Sox hitters had more than one. Juan Pierre, A.J. Pierzynski, Omar Vizquel, and Gordon Beckham had two apiece, while Mark Teahen contributed three hits (including a double) and three RBI. Alex Rios chipped in with a home run (his 9th) and a stolen base (his 14th). By the way, Vizquel's base hit in the fifth inning tied him with his countryman, Luis Aparicio, for second-most hits by a shortstop, with 2674. (His hit in the ninth inning didn't add to that total because by that time, Omar had moved over to third base.)
John Danks was the beneficiary of this offensive (and I mean that in the best sense of the word) largess, although his performance looks better on paper than it did on the field. Danks gave up just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings, but didn't have his best stuff. It was enough to improve his record to 4-3, which along with his 2.37 ERA makes him the best pitcher on the staff. Danks had help from a series of relievers -- Sergio Santos, Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz, and Bobby Jenks -- each of whom threw an inning of scoreless relief.
The win inches the Sox closer to idle Minnesota, who now has a 7.0 game lead on the Pale Hose. They're at Cleveland again tonight, with a good chance to pick up another win against the cellar-dwelling Indians. The Sox won't have the luxury of facing a pitcher as bad as Monday's starter, Justin Masterson, who has lost 11 consecutive games, but we're looking for a win nonetheless. Go Sox!
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