AP Photo/Paul BeatySox catcher A.J. Pierzynski watches his three-run home run against the Royals in the eighth inning. For the second time this week, the White Sox simply brushed off potentially grim news as if they were swiping a gnat from their ever broadening shoulders.
With games like the Mark Buehrle- and A.J. Pierzynski-inspired 8-2 victory over the pesky Kansas City Royals, the White Sox just keep getting stronger. They have now won six consecutive games, 19 of their last 23, and 23 of their last 28.
When Jake Peavy went down with a serious injury Tuesday, the White Sox kept on winning. The most recent solid play came Friday shortly after a double-dose of information that could have left them reeling once again.
At about the same time Friday afternoon that Peavy confirmed that he would be lost for the year, the clubhouse television offered the news about Cliff Lee’s trade to the playoff-contending Texas Rangers.
Nobody was in mourning, including an upbeat Peavy, who said he will remain with the team for the remainder of the season while he recovers from surgery next week.
Even without Peavy, the White Sox aren’t afraid of Lee. In fact, bring him on, they say. “If we face Lee this season, that will be a good thing,” pitching coach Don Cooper said.
His point is that the White Sox don’t have any regular-season games remaining with the Rangers so the only way they could meet would be in the playoffs. Cooper’s staff will gladly take its chances at that point.
More good news from the Lee deal is that the Rangers still have seven games remaining with the third-place Minnesota Twins and five more against the first-place Detroit Tigers. The White Sox’ victory Friday kept them a half game behind the Tigers and put them three ahead of the Twins.
“With that lineup they have, they’re very dangerous,” Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of the Rangers. “I think that’s going to help those guys and put them over the top in that division. I was glad because off the top, I thought it was New York and Minnesota [who would land Lee], and we still have to play against them. So I’m glad Texas got him.”
Nobody is as dangerous as the White Sox these days and pitching has been a big reason why. Since June 9, the White Sox are a baseball-best 23-5, posting a 2.38 ERA (66 earned runs/250 innings) over that stretch.
While John Danks’ two-hit shutout Thursday came against a struggling Angels offense, the eight innings of zeroes posted by Buehrle and Sergio Santos were against a Royals team that entered with the best team batting average in baseball at .283. The Royals also entered batting .313 with runners in scoring position over their last 13 games, going 10-3 over that span.
When Yuniesky Betancourt hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning off Jeff Marquez, it snapped the White Sox’s 17-inning scoreless streak.
Target practice
Six pitches into Friday’s game, the White Sox received a scare when Buehrle took a line drive from the Royals’ Scott Podsednik off his right wrist.
Buehrle said he was in serious pain for about a half inning with some of his fingers even going numb at one point.
He even yelled at his former teammate, but not because of the comebacker. He told Podsednik to steal second base already so he wouldn’t have to throw over to first base so much.
“It got me pretty good, but they didn’t even take X-rays after they looked at it,” Buehrle said. “It feels totally fine.”
He went on to beat the Royals for the first time in three tries this season and the 21st time in his career, second most to his 24 victories over the Twins.
Double dose
For just the third time in his career, Pierzynski hit two home runs in a game as he emerged from a dry spell with a vengeance. Pierzynski had just one hit in his last 17 at-bats before Friday’s game when he hit a solo shot against Bruce Chen in the fourth inning and three-run homer against Victor Marte in the eighth.
“A.J has been struggling for the last couple of weeks,” Guillen said. “Now he’s starting to swing the bat better.”
Quote of the day
“I kind of thought about [400], but I think it was a changeup and I top-spinned it a little more rather than hitting through it,” -- Andruw Jones, on his fly ball to deep left field in the eighth inning that kept him at 399 career home runs. He ended up tying a season-high with three hits after entering with two hits in his previous 23 at-bats.
Looking ahead
Red-hot Gavin Floyd (4-7, 4.43 ERA) has been as good as anybody over his last six starts, going 2-1 with an American League-best 1.27 ERA over that stretch. He also has 37 strikeouts during that run. He is just 1-2 with a 6.16 ERA against the Royals, who he will face at home Saturday. He will be opposed by the Royals’ Brian Bannister
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