It`s beginning to look easy for Jack McDowell.
The right-hander boosted his record to 7-0 Sunday as the White Sox topped the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 in front of 44,609, another sellout, in wonderful Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Joey Cora, getting a start at second base while Steve Sax got a rest, scored three runs and drove in a fourth. George Bell got the key hit of the day, a two-run single in the first inning off Baltimore starter Jose Mesa
(1-3), as the Sox stayed within a half-game of first place in the American League West.
But McDowell`s seventh victory in seven starts was the story of this one. ”It was pretty much the kind of game you say a little prayer for, and He heard me,” said Joe Nossek, filling in as manager for Gene Lamont, who went home after learning early Sunday of his mother`s death.
McDowell gave up four hits in his eight innings. He had a two-hit shutout through seven, and one of those hits was a Joe Orsulak bunt. Orsulak was batting fourth.
”Everything he threw today was working,” said the Orioles` Chris Hoiles, who had two of the hits. ”He had a good forkball, curveball and fastball.
”He`s not 7-0 for nothing.”
McDowell tried to put it in perspective.
`ur way as a starting pitcher to win games,” he said. ”Your team has to score. You have to throw the ball fairly well. You have to get out of tough situations all the time to do a streak.
”Think about scoreless-inning streaks and stuff like that. So much has to go right for that kind of thing to happen.”
Things went right early for the Sox.
Cora drew a walk with one out in the first inning and moved to second on a single by Robin Ventura. Frank Thomas followed with a towering fly to center that Mike Devereaux dropped. Nobody scored-Cora had tagged up-but the bases were loaded for Bell, whose single over second baseman Mark McLemore made it 2-0.
In the third, Cora walked again, this time to start the inning, and took second on Ventura`s hit-and-run ground ball. He stole third as Thomas looked at a fourth ball, and came in to score when Hoiles` good throw clanked off third baseman Tim Hulett`s glove and trickled toward left field.
”When you`re going against their ace,” said Orioles manager Johnny Oates, ”you can`t afford to make many mistakes.”
In the fifth, Cora, once more leading off, was hit on the leg by a Mesa pitch, took third on another single by Ventura and scored on a Thomas fly. And in the sixth, his own sacrifice fly sent Matt Merullo home.
Meanwhile, his batting average fell to .071.
”That`s the way it goes,” said Cora. ”If they want to walk me, fine with me.
”I try to get on base for the big guys. You get on base with Ventura, Thomas and Bell hitting behind you, there`s a pretty good chance you`re going to score some runs.”
There was no chance for the Orioles until the eighth. McDowell walked Randy Milligan to start the inning, Hoiles` double put Orioles on second and third, and both scored on a single by Hulett.
”It was fairly obvious I wasn`t going real good at that point,”
McDowell said.
Nossek switched to Bobby Thigpen for the ninth, and Thigpen finished up for his ninth save in 10 opportunities. Pitching coach Jackie Brown probably dictated that move.
In fact, Nossek said, all the coaches chipped in.
”It was a staff infection,” said Nossek. ”All the way.”
Any decisions at all?
”Yeah,” said Nossek. ”Coming to the park today.”
That, with McDowell as his starting pitcher, was easy.
