Pierzynski was caught in the middle
CHICAGO - Can you say, "Big series for both teams"?
The White Sox can. After being outscored, 46-7, by the Red Sox here last season in a four-game sweep, the White Sox put that massacre in the back of their minds. This season, they are atop the American League Central and fully understand that the pennant goes through Boston.
"It was a reminder of how bad they kicked our [rear] last year, and that we needed to have good, solid games against that team," White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said after Chicago's 5-3 win last night. "We were up against a guy like Jon Lester, who has tremendous movement on his pitches, and Mark [Buehrle] was able to match him and give us a solid outing against a really tough lineup."
The White Sox (64-50) got seven innings from Buehrle, who allowed one run on four hits and struck out eight. Carlos Quentin, an MVP candidate, hit his league-leading 31st homer in the eighth inning to give closer Bobby Jenks (23 saves) a two-run lead. Orlando Cabrera, a former Red Sox shortstop who is hitting .397 (23 for 58) in his last 15 games against Boston, chipped in with two hits and two RBIs, and Pierzynski drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Pierzynski, the outspoken backstop, has had an excellent season, hitting .289 with nine homers and 45 RBIs. He strongly urged reliever D.J. Carrasco, who entered the game after Octavio Dotel surrendered a three-run homer to Dustin Pedroia in the eighth, to throw strikes after he had walked Kevin Youkilis.
"It was just one of those things where we'd given up the home run to Pedroia and we'd gotten hurt by a walk to J.D. Drew, and the last thing we needed was another walk," said Pierzynski. "D.J. is a young pitcher and we just needed him to throw the ball over the plate. Walks really hurt us."
Pierzynski was also involved in a rundown in the seventh, which didn't start well but ended well for the White Sox. Cabrera eventually scored after Pierzynski's single, the Red Sox needing four throws to tag out the catcher in the rundown.
Pierzynski, according to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, "pimped it" out of the batter's box, admiring his hit to right field instead of running hard. "It turned out to be a great play," Guillen said.
"It was a great day at the ballpark," added Guillen. "It was a well-played game. It brings you to the next level when you play a game like that. We need these types of games against a team like that."
Guillen said of Buehrle's performance, "This is the Mark we see most of the time. When he's bad, he's real bad, but most of the time you know what you're going to get."
After Pedroia's homer made it 4-3, Quentin went deep against Manny Delcarmen in the eighth. The White Sox' left fielder is hitting .417 with four homers and nine RBIs in his last nine games.
As the Angels did recently, the White Sox are trying to make a statement that they are no longer afraid of the Red Sox.
"It's a challenge because the Red Sox come in here with a lot of their fans in the stands," said Pierzynski. "I'm sure that's a huge factor for them. In the end, we have to take care of our own business. That's a tough team, tough lineup even without Manny [Ramírez]. Sure, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer and he's no longer there, but Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew, Jason Bay, these guys are having great years. So, they're tough even without Manny. We just have to play good, solid baseball to beat that team."
