Worth the Wait...White Sox Salvage Game Against Yankees With 7-6 Win (Game 21, '08)

It only took two days plus a rain delay for the White Sox to finally get a win against the hard-hitting Yankees, defeating them 7-6.  Joe Crede continued his clutch hitting, with a game-winning RBI single against the tough Chamberlain.  I loved the way Crede simply reached out to make contact, dropping a single into left field to score Quentin from second.  Perhaps he took his lessons from Pierzynski, who came about ten feet away from a home run, and Carlos Quentin who came about three feet from a home run, with a double off the wall.  Crede settled for a single, with a short swing, but that was enough to get the job done. 

This game looked for a time like it would go the way the past two games went - with the bullpen unable to contain the Yankee bats and the Sox offense unable to get the key hit when needed.  Instead, Bobby Jenks closed the door in the ninth in a tie ballgame, inducing a double play from the Sox killer Jorge Posada, allowing the Sox offense to get to work at the bottom of the inning.  It was a gutsy move from Ozzie Guillen to go to Jenks in that situation in my opinion, and it paid off. 

Still, there were far too many walks by the Sox pitching once again - six in total, and fifteen over the entire three-game series.  Four walks and five earned runs by Floyd does not qualify as a quality start, and in general, watching White Sox pitching nibble around the strike zone, instead of attacking it was troublesome to me.  I believe a pitching staff is only as good as how they fare against the very best offenses.  I don't believe overall, the White Sox pitching passed the test in this series, although they did enough to win tonight - barely.  I also realize Floyd returned after a long rain delay.  The White Sox pitching staff needs to attack the hitters and own the inside part of the plate.  It seemed all series long, Yankees hitters were looking away and taking the ball either over or off the wall to the opposite field all series long.  That cannot continue when facing offenses like the Tigers who have come to life lately. 

Bobby Jenks shutting down the Yankees with the game on the line in a tie ballgame, and the clutch hitting in the bottom half of the ninth seemed to break a negative chain that had been established in the series until that point. I suppose all is not quite well that ends well, unless you win the World Series ugly.  Still, I'm glad for the victory, and hope this gives a charge in the White Sox to continue on in their series against the Orioles.