Friday, April 1, 2011
White Sox 15, Indians 10: Dunn stars in extended spring training victory
Adam Dunn had an Adam Chance to positively acquaint himself with White Sox fans when he came to the plate in the first inning. Juan Pierre and Gordon Beckham set the stage with a single and a double off Fausto Carmona, but Dunn fell flat, half-swinging and missing at a fastball on the outside corner. Paul Konerko picked him up with an opposite-field single one batter later.
Dunn would need no such assistance in his second trip. After Beckham led off with a single in the third, Dunn launched his first American League home run to double the White Sox's lead. Carlos Quentin would double up on two-run homers before the inning was over.
Throw in a two-run double that knocked Fausto Carmona out of the game one inning later, and Dunn's debut was a dandy. He went 2-for-4 with four RBI as part of an 18-hit assault en route to an 15-10 victory on Opening Day.
Quentin matched him again in that fourth inning, smoking a two-run double off the wall as the Sox scored eight runs in the fourth. Quentin grabbed the game lead in RBI in the process with five, and the Sox led 14-0. Mark Buehrle and his comfortable pitch count had a very comfortable lead.
Perhaps everybody was a little too comfortable.
Star-divide
First, Ozzie Guillen lifted many of his starters after the top of the sixth, which Buehrle took as a signal to engage strike-throwing mode. The Indians took advantage, touching him up for four runs on five straight hits over just 10 pitches.
And once the Indians got a taste of hitting, they didn't want to stop. They lit up Will Ohman for two homers (one a lefty), as the LOOGY couldn't get through a full inning in his White Sox debut. A Lastings Milledge non-error error (dropped a "double" he should've had) extended an inning, leading to two more runs to make it interesting.
Even Jesse Crain had to work way too hard, needing 34 pitches to survive the ninth. He struck out Jack Hannahan with two runners on to end the game.
Had Hannahan singled, Matt Thornton was ready in the bullpen. In one form or another, Guillen used up five-sixths of his relief corps when his team had a 14-0 lead.
Notes:
*Buehrle failed to record a strikeout; Crain and Chris Sale had the only two Sox strikeouts all night. The Cleveland staff fanned 14.
*Brent Lillibridge struck out in both of his trips to the plate, giving him 11 in his last 12 regular-season at-bats.
Record: 1-0 | Box score | Play-by-play
Source :http://www.southsidesox.com/2011/4/1/2085779/april-1-white-sox-15-indians-10-adam-dunn-stars-in-extended-spring-training-victory