WHITE SOX - GAME RECAPS

June 12th - Chicago White Sox 5, Cincinnati 0 - Attendance 21,687.

This game featured the two participants in the 1919 World Series, better known as the series that the Black Sox threw. Neither team seemed concerned about that series over 80 years ago, though. Today, David Wells started for the Chisox and was superb, giving up only 1 hit through 3 innings. His teammates couldn't muster any support however, and the game was scoreless entering the fourth. Wells yielded a 1-out double to Dmitri Young and a two-out walk to Ruben Rivera, but induced Jason LaRue to pop out to end the threat. In the bottom of the inning, Magglio Ordonez hit a 2-out single and Paul Konerko followed with a homer to start the scoreboard spinning and the White Sox winning.

In the 6th, Ordonez hit a 3-run shot and the Sox had the game well in hand. Wells went 7 scoreless innings before giving way to Sean Lowe who gave up a couple of hits but closed out the game without allowing the Reds to threaten. A great pitching display by Boomer, but not a particularly interesting game, it gets a 6/10.

Wells gets his weight behind one

June 14th - Chicago White Sox 7, Cincinnati 5 - Attendance 18,201

This game looked like it was over early as Paul Konerko hit a grand slam in the bottom of the first off Reds' starter Osvaldo Fernandez to give the Sox a quick 4-0 lead. Cincinnati got one run back in the third, but Ordonez replied in the home half with a solo shot to make it 5-1. James Baldwin was going well for the Pale Hose, but in the 6th he ran out of gas, giving up 3 runs on 3 singles and a wild pitch. Sean Lowe came in to hold the game in the 7th, but he gave up a single to Pokey Reese. Although he got the next batter out, he was removed for Kelly Wunsch, who promptly allowed Reese to steal third. Brady Clark hit a sac fly and suddenly the game was knotted at 5.

But this set the stage for a bizarre Sox 7th. With one out, Ray Durham walked. Chris Singleton then reached on catcher's interference, one of the rarest plays in baseball. Scott Sullivan came in to pitch, but Carlos Lee smacked a double to score one run, and then Konerko hit a sacrifice fly for his 5th RBI and some insurance for the White Sox. The next batter was Harold Baines, who suffered an injury while taking a pitch. He was placed on the DL after the game, so it was a fairly severe injury, but it was the first time I had seen a player hurt while watching a pitch go by.

Anyway, Sox relievers Bob Howry and Keith Foulke pitched 1-2-3 eight and ninth innings respectively and the Sox had won the game 7-5. After blowing the early lead, they showed some character coming back to win and it was a good game overall, so it gets 7/10.