Is there any correlation between the return of Frank Thomas and the re-emergence of the White Sox offense, or is it purely coincidental?
Inquiring Sox fans want to know.
The Sox knocked out 19 hits Monday night while cruising to a 15-5 victory over Texas, taking three out of four from the AL West leaders. They’re 5-2 on their cross-country trip heading into the Big Apple for three against the Yankees.
Norberto Martin and Robin Ventura homered early to help the Sox to an 8-0 lead after three innings, and Wilson Alvarez survived an off-night to post his 14th victory.
The Sox moved a full game ahead of Seattle for the wild-card spot and are within five games of division-leading Cleveland.
In the six games since Thomas returned to the lineup, the Sox have hit .328 as a team and averaged 8.7 runs a game. In the 18 games he was on the disabled list, they hit .253 and averaged 4.6. Nine different Sox players drove in at least one run Monday.
“I don’t think we’ll be doing that the rest of the year,” said manager Terry Bevington. “But it’s good to do it for a short time.”
Bevington was more concerned about injuries incurred by Danny Tartabull and Matt Karchner during the game. Both are day-to-day and not expected to go on the disabled list. “The game,” he said, “kind of loses its importance.”
The Sox took the 8-0 lead off Darren Oliver (9-5) on the strength of a two-run homer by Martin, his first of ’96, and a three-run blast by Ventura, his 24th. Martin, hitting .388, added two infield hits and also drew two walks after coming into the night with only one walk in 77 plate appearances.
“That’s what I work hard for all the time,” he said. “I know that when I’m sitting on the bench, I’m going to be ready for my chance whenever it comes.”
Alvarez (14-5) gave up a grand slam to Kevin Elster but survived thanks to the Sox’s bats. Ray Durham led off for the first time this year and had three hits and three runs scored. Dave Martinez had a two-run homer in the ninth.
“We needed to win,” Alvarez said. “Seattle is right there in the wild-card race, and it’s not going to be easy.”
