The Big Hurt gave the White Sox some Big Mo heading into the big cross-town series against the Cubs.
Frank Thomas’ two-run, pinch-hit home run off Rob Bell led the Sox to a 6-4 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday, completing a three-game sweep and enabling the Sox to finish their trip with a 7-2 record against Seattle, Houston and the Reds.
“It was probably a better trip than the one we had at the beginning of the season,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “The competition was tough. . . . To come in here and sweep a team that had just swept one of your Central Division opponents [Minnesota], and to come in and put three good wins on them–it’s an outstanding trip for the guys. I’m proud of the way they battled, the way they hung in there.”
After a day off to catch their breath, the Sox face off against the Cubs this weekend at Comiskey Park in the resumption of the baseball war to end all baseball wars.
“It’s not the end of the world if we lose to the Cubs,” Paul Konerko said. “But it’s close.”
Thomas’ homer in the sixth gave the Sox their first lead, and the bullpen made it hold up for Jim Parque (6-2). Jeff Abbott drove in three runs with three hits, including two doubles, and Keith Foulke collected his 13th straight save.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit a three-run, opposite-field home run off Parque to put the Reds on top only three batters into the Reds’ first. But the left-hander settled down, allowing only two more hits over five innings and giving the hitters time to respond.
“The difference this year is that this team knows how to come from behind,” Abbott said. “In the past if we were down 3-0, it soon would be 7-0. With this team, the pitcher holds them and we manage to get some runs. That’s how Cleveland and New York win. They know how to win games. That’s one thing we’re learning, and it’s a very important thing to learn.”
Manuel left three of his key offensive players out of the starting lineup Wednesday–Thomas, Magglio Ordonez and Ray Durham were on the bench against Bell. Manuel said he had three reasons–the artificial turf, the marathon 17-12 game Tuesday night and the upcoming stretch of 17 straight games against the Cubs, Indians and Yankees.
“We don’t have any off days for a long time [after Thursday],” Manuel said. “And we’re going into some emotional and high-intensity ballgames.”
Their three replacements–Konerko, Abbott and Tony Graffanino–were combined 6 for 12.
“We have a lot of options on this team,” Thomas said. “Any lineup we throw out there, the guys believe they can win.”
Abbott’s RBI double in the fourth and a run-scoring groundout by Brook Fordyce in the sixth pulled the Sox within a run. Manuel then sent Thomas up to pinch-hit for Parque. Thomas delivered his first career pinch homer, putting the Sox ahead 4-3. Abbott doubled home two more runs off reliever Scott Williamson in the seventh and the coast was clear.
Now comes the interleague series that has lived up to the hype over the last two years.
First there was the infamous “ivy” game in 1998. The Sox lost when the ivy swallowed up an Ordonez extra-base hit, a run coming off the board when it was ruled a ground-rule double. Then there was the Sox sweep at Wrigley last June, sending the Cubs into a major tailspin.
What’s in store for 2000 is anyone’s guess.
“It’s going to be an electric atmosphere this weekend,” Thomas said. “It’s going to be crazy. We have to be prepared to play, because I know they will be.”
