Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Royals cost the White Sox a three-game winning streak that would have matched their season high. It also dropped them into a 2-2 split in the series.
But the pitching of starters Jaime Navarro, James Baldwin and Jim Parque in the series’ final three games provided a bright note.
Heeding pitching coach Nardi Contreras’ advice to “throw strikes,” the three pitchers worked a combined 20 2/3 innings, yielded seven earned runs and walked only three batters, one by Navarro, none by Baldwin and two Sunday by Parque.
The three pitchers had a combined earned-run average for the weekend of 3.04. For the season, the Sox have a 5.84 ERA and average more than four walks per nine innings.
“It seems there were always runners at second and third today,” said Parque, who yielded eight hits but only two runs in six innings, “but I was able to keep my team in the game. That built my confidence.”
Kid-pleasers: Bob Grim, the Sox’s director of marketing and broadcasting, estimated that more than 16,000 children 14 or younger received Beanie Babies. “We normally draw about 8,000 kids on a Sunday, and there were at least double that number here today,” Grim said. Beanie Babies not distributed Sunday probably will be actioned off for charity later in the year, Grim said.
Nobody home: Shortstop Chris Snopek was involved in an unusual fielder’s choice in the eighth inning when he fielded Johnny Damon’s two-out grounder with runners breaking from first and second and threw to Ray Durham trying for a force at second . . . only Durham was 25 feet off second base. The play loaded the bases, but the Sox escaped unharmed.
“The only one I could throw out was Sal Fasano at second,” said Snopek, “but Ray wasn’t there. We got out of it, though. We kept getting out of things until the ninth.”
Boom, boom: The Sox hit back-to-back home runs for the seventh time this season when Magglio Ordonez and Wil Cordero connected in the second inning. The last time the Sox homered successively was when Albert Belle and Robin Ventura did it June 10 against the Cardinals.
Heaving a ball: Sox players delighted young fans before the game when they came onto the field and hurled dozens of baseballs into the stands. Mike Cameron cranked up and made a mighty heave from behind the third base coach’s box into the third deck above the visitors’ dugout.
Jeff Abbott took Cameron’s spot in center field. But Cameron hadn’t thrown out his arm reaching the third deck.
“I just wanted to find a way to work Abbott into the lineup,” manager Jerry Manuel said. Cameron replaced Abbott late in the game.
Beanie Baby expert: Sox bench coach Joe Nossek knows all about Beanie Babies. Since spring training in 1997, he’s been buying them and presenting them to his eight grandchildren.
Nossek keeps lists of which of the toys he has given to each grandchild, somewhat like a book a coach or ballplayer keeps on hitters or pitchers.
“I go back to the Hula hoop craze,” said Nossek, 57, “and this has it all over the hoops. It’s addictive, but it’s fun.”
