You had to expect a good series with 2 playoff contending teams matching up in Chicago. The White Sox and Angels battled each other for 3 games. Unfortunately, the Angels lost 2 out of 3. Here are the recaps:

Game 1: The first one was a fun one–for White Sox fans. The South Siders pounded their way to a 10-2 victory, much to the delight of the home crowd. Starter Dustin Moseley was hit very hard, giving up 4 runs in only 1 1/3 innings pitched. The Sox scored 2 runs in the 1st and 2 in the second. A 2-run single from Ken Griffey Jr. and a 2-run home run from Juan Uribe gave Chicago its 4-0 lead. It didn’t get any better for the Angels. Darren Oliver came in and gave up 3 more runs in the third. This included another home run by Juan Uribe, and a solo home run by Paul Konerko. The White Sox hitting the long ball shouldn’t come as a surprise–they lead baseball in the catagory. The Angels were buried, and Chicago lefty Mark Buehrle was outstanding, shutting out them through 6 innings. The Angels would plate a pair of runs in the 7th, but it was ALL White Sox on this night.

Game 2: This game was more even, but the end result was still disappointing. In the longest September game ever that featured two first-place clubs, the White Sox won on a walk-off blast by Jim Thome in the 15th to send Chicago home happy. The Angels jumped out to an early lead in the 1st against Gavin Floyd. They would enjoy it until the bottom of the 2nd, when John Lackey gave up 2 runs. A home run by, of all people, Chone Figgins would even up the score in the 3rd. With the score 2-2, the Angels scored 3 times in the 6th. Home runs by Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli really gave the team a boost of confidence. Unfortunately, the White Sox chipped away by doing what they do best–hitting the long ball. Paul Konerko’s solo shot in the 6th brought them to within 2 runs in the 6th. Then, with Lackey still in the game, Nick Swisher clutched up with a man aboard to tie the game. The home run was Swisher’s 24th. John Lackey and Gavin Floyd each gave up 5 runs in 7 innings. Nobody would score until the 9th, when rookie Brandon Wood would go deep–a clutch home run at the time for the Angels. Nobody would expect it, but K-Rod would blow the save in the bottom of that inning, sending the two teams to extra innings. Running out of pitchers, the Angels used Justin Speier, who had pitched in the last 3 games. Jim Thome crushed one of Speier’s fastballs well into the seats in right to win the game for the White Sox, 7-6 in 15 innings. The homer by Thome was no. 30 for the season, and no. 537 for his career, passing the great Mickey Mantle. The Angels couldn’t lower their magic number on this day, and would try to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon.  

(For Game 3, see my next post)