Doesn’t Jermaine Dye know how it works?
Twice a year the White Sox march into Kauffman Stadium and don’t leave until their egos are properly inflated. Since 1995 they are 20-5 at the Royals’ home park.
But Dye was determined to end that pattern on a cold, rainy Friday night.
And so he did as the Royals pulled out a 7-2 win before a crowd that almost could have been counted on two hands.
“He pretty much took over the ballgame,” Sox manager Jerry Manuel said.
With the bases loaded and the Sox trailing 5-2 in the seventh, Magglio Ordonez hit a soft liner to right field. Both Dye and center-fielder Carlos Beltran converged on the ball, but it was Dye who made a diving catch to save three runs.
The catch was reminiscent of the one that Dye made last Saturday on a drive hit by Frank Thomas that helped preserve a 9-4 Royals win.
Does Dye have something against Chicago? Did he eat some bad deep-dish pizza?
Not only did the 25-year-old outfielder turn in the defensive play of the game Friday night, he also blasted a three-run homer in the sixth that put his team ahead 5-2 and knocked Sox starter Mike Sirotka out of the game.
“That was a cut fastball that I didn’t get high enough,” Sirotka said. “I put it right where he wanted it.”
After allowing just one baserunner through the first three innings, Sirotka (0-2) gave up a two-run homer to Jeff King in the fourth.
The Sox (3-6) had jumped ahead on an RBI single by Mike Caruso in the third. They tied the game 2-2 in the sixth on Paul Konerko’s 6-4-3 double play.
After a 28-minute rain delay, the Royals took charge. The win marked their fourth straight against the Sox this season. They are 0-5 against all other opponents.
