The White Sox’s 6-4 victory Saturday night over the Detroit Tigers before a Comiskey Park crowd of 21,543 was more than their fourth straight. In the mind of manager Jerry Manuel, it was the capstone of perhaps the best stretch of the season for his first-place team.
“We put a lot of things together as a team,” Manuel said.
Those things began with the bullpen. Four Sox relievers shut down the Tigers without a hit for 4 2/3 innings.
Meanwhile, after getting 10 RBIs from the heart of the batting order in Friday night’s victory, the Sox got timely hitting from the rest of their lineup Saturday, including a two-run double from Kenny Lofton and the 100th home run of Ray Durham’s career.
The victory went to Kelly Wunsch (1-0), who relieved starter Gary Glover with two on and three runs in during the Detroit fifth. Wunsch threw one pitch to Tigers first baseman Randall Simon, who hit into an inning-ending double play and gave Wunsch perhaps the easiest victory of his career.
“I’m almost embarrassed,” Wunsch said, laughing. “But you take [wins] when you can get them.”
Rocky Biddle, Damaso Marte and Keith Foulke followed and allowed only Bobby Higginson to reach base on an eighth-inning walk. He was promptly erased by the Sox’s second 6-4-3 double play of the game.
“When we get that type of effort from our bullpen, it makes it really difficult on our opponents,” Manuel said. “Hopefully that’s a sign of things turning around.”
The Tigers scored in the top of the first when Higginson singled and stole second, then scored on Simon’s single to right.
But in the Sox’s second, the rest of the lineup–the group recently overshadowed by power displays from Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas–took charge.
Singles by Carlos Lee, Mark Johnson and Royce Clayton produced the tying run before Lofton lashed his second double in as many innings, driving in Johnson and Clayton.
Lofton then came in on Durham’s third home run of the season, a towering 404-foot blast to right.
But the 5-1 lead was not enough for Glover. With one out in the fifth inning, the Tigers strung together four singles and a walk to score three runs, knocking out Glover and bringing in Wunsch.
The Sox provided a cushion in the eighth when Clayton walked, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Lofton, moved to third on a single by Durham and came in on Ordonez’s chopper to short.
“We have a lineup that is capable of being productive and picking each other up,” Manuel said. “Ray [Durham] had a good game tonight (2-for-4, two RBIs) with a hit and a home run. Kenny and Royce got on base and Carlos Lee came through with a couple of hits.”
