The White Sox took Round 1 of the 15th annual City Series by a 2-1 margin with Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field.
No real surprise there. The Sox came into the competition with a better record and, by any objective reckoning, a better team.
How they won, though, was worth a headline.
The game was scoreless when A.J. Pierzynski batted with two on and one out in the fourth inning. The sturdy Sox catcher is not exactly fleet of foot, but he never stopped running … OK, lumbering … as his well-struck drive reached the gap in right-center field and went for a two-run triple.
While Pierzynski was celebrating the third triple of his seven-year White Sox career—and catching his breath—manager Ozzie Guillen mischievously flashed the bunt sign on the first pitch to Brent Lillibridge. The Sox’s ace utility player put down a perfect squeeze bunt, and Pierzynski steamed home from third with the third run of the inning.
That was a nice cushion for oft-injured Jake Peavy. He survived a dugout set-to with Pierzynski over pitch selection to earn his third win in four decisions for the Sox, laboring into the sixth inning with a 4-1 lead. Chris Sale rescued him after the Cubs got within 4-3 on Carlos Pena’s third home run of the series and Jeff Baker’s RBI single. Jesse Crain, Matt Thornton and Sergio Santos followed with two innings of spotless relief, striking out four of the six batters they faced.
All in all a satisfying night on the South Side as the Sox (37-39) moved within two games of the .500 mark, the closest they have been since April 18. They trail AL Central leaders Cleveland by four-and-a-half games.
The series drew a total of 106,563 fans, or 35,521 per game. None was a sellout. The games were played on weeknights for the first time in City Series history, and that, along with the threat of rain for Games 2 and 3, might have held the crowds down.
Or maybe, after 15 years, the series has lost some of its buzz, especially with both teams scuffling. As of Wednesday night tickets were available for the three-game rematch at Wrigley Field July 1-3.
Herewith, some observations:
Player of the Series, North Side: Starlin Castro. The 22-year-old shortstop was 6-for-12 in the three games, with a game-tying homer in Game 1, four RBIs and about six Gold Glove-caliber fielding plays. One of them resulted in a tough error. Castro ranged far to his right to glove Juan Pierre’s grounder in Wednesday’s first inning, but his hurried, off-balance throw got through Pena and skipped into the photographers’ booth adjacent to the White Sox dugout. Pierre was awarded second base and Castro was charged with an error
Castro can hit. He has kept his batting average comfortably above .300 all season, he has driven in 36 runs and he is among the major league leaders in hits. He’s likely to be the Cubs’ lone representative to the July 12 All-Star Game in Arizona, and he made a strong impression on the manager in the opposing dugout, who played shortstop in the big leagues for 16 seasons.
“The Cubs have a good one—he’s going to be a special player in Chicago,” Ozzie Guillen said. “He’s a very confident hitter for such a young guy. But don’t you guys go writing about how great he is. Let him earn it.”
And learn it. The Cubs had scored twice and were within 4-3 when Castro came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning. He swung at Sale’s first pitch and bounced out to third.
Player of the Series, South Side: Paul Konerko. The White Sox first baseman homered in his first at-bat in each of the first two games. The Cubs walked him intentionally with a runner at third, two outs and first base open in Wednesday’s first inning, and from the volume of the booing, you would have thought Adam Dunn had wandered onto the scene.
Konerko had hit homers in five straight games before going 0-for-3 and is on one of the best runs of his distinguished career, batting .327 with 21 homers and 59 RBIs.
“Paulie is a professional hitter. He never gives away an at-bat,” Guillen said. “Every day he comes to the ballpark, every time he goes up to the plate, he’s prepared. If more players went up to the plate as prepared as Paulie is, there’d be more good hitters.”
Konerko, 35, has never finished higher than fifth in American League MVP voting, but that could change this season. He is putting up MVP numbers.
“Ask me about it in September, if I’m still going good,” Konerko said. “I might talk about it then. Maybe.”
Finding his niche: Jeff Samardzija was the Game 2 losing pitcher, touched for a double, a single and a sacrifice fly as the Cubs broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning. But Quade liked what he saw of Samardzija when he retired Carlos Quentin, Konerko and Dunn in a 1-2-3 sixth. He came back Wednesday to pitch a 1-2-3 seventh with two strikeouts in Game 3.
“Mid-to-high 90s, throwing his softer stuff for strikes in the bottom of the zone—good outing,” manager Mike Quade said. “I wish he could bottle it.”
Samardzija, 26, is out of minor league options, so this could be his make-or-break year with the Cubs as he works to develop his secondary pitches. He’s 5-3 with a 4.07 ERA and working steady in middle relief.
“He’s coming along,” Quade said. “It’s all a matter of command with him. He’s got a really nice cutter that’s more like a slider, and he throws a splitter. If he can command his softer stuff while throwing in the mid-90s, he’s got a chance to be an outstanding set-up man.”
The Cubs probably envisioned more from the Notre Dame All-American wide receiver when they gave him $10 million over five years to dissuade him from playing pro football. “That’s what he’s best suited to do right now,” Quade said. “Maybe he moves beyond it down the road, but right now that’s what’s best for him.”
Oddly quiet: Boo-birds at the Cell got a chance to rest their lungs in Game 3—Adam Dunn sat down against left-handed starter Doug Davis. Dunn is hitting .174 with 91 strikeouts in 217 at-bats. The booing has been unmerciful recently.
“I feel bad for him—nobody likes to get booed,” Guillen said. “I told him he’s just a base hit or a home run from getting cheered. Chicago fans are tough, demanding, but they change like the weather. One day they hate you, next day they love you. They don’t want to boo. But they expect a lot.”
Alfonso Soriano, well acquainted with the sound of booing, attempted to clarify a statement attributed to him calling Chicago fans the worst in baseball. What he meant to say, Soriano said, is that Chicago fans are the toughest on players who are struggling. He would know.
Welcome back, Becks: While Dunn sat, Gordon Beckham returned to the White Sox lineup following a three-game mini-vacation.
“It wasn’t punishment,” Guillen said. “I just wanted him to refresh his mind. I didn’t think he was there mentally—he needed a couple of days. Don’t worry about how great you were in Little League or how great you were in college or how great you’re supposed to be here. Just play the game and do what you’re supposed to do.”
Beckham is hitting .230 after going 1-for-4. He took a base hit away from Kosuke Fukudome with a nice stop in short right field in the third inning.
What team was he watching? The Cubs left town with a 30-44 record, good for fifth place and a 10-game deficit in the NL Central.
“I don’t follow it, but I think they can win their division,” Guillen said. “They’ve got a good lineup, good enough to compete.”
Quade seemed a little taken aback by Guillen’s pronouncement. “I hope Ozzie’s a good handicapper,” he said.
The Final Word: “I’ll be dead when I’m 80, I know that.” —Guillen, asked if he could imagine himself returning to the dugout at age 80, as Jack McKeon is doing as Florida’s interim manager.