The White Sox were excited about opening a 12-game homestand at U.S. Cellular Field on Monday, despite having the lowest home batting average in the American League and coming off a 5-1 road trip.
In fact, they play 21 of their next 27 games in Chicago, counting games at Wrigley Field, so this could be the time to make their move.
“This will be a big stretch of games,” captain Paul Konerko said. “The Cubs series, the Dodgers — there are some tough series. This is when the season kicks in.
“It’s been grueling and tough early because we’ve been on the road a lot, but hopefully we can take these home games and kind of make our stand here.”
The stand began with a 6-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of 26,038 fans, thanks to Jim Thome’s 550th career home run in the eighth inning.
It was the fifth consecutive series that the Sox have started with a victory.
Thome’s 389-foot blow to left-center field came with Scott Podsednik and Jermaine Dye aboard and broke a 2-2 tie.
Podsednik started the inning with a walk, as he did in the first inning when he scored the Sox’s first run.
“He makes a lot of excitement for this ballclub, and I’m glad he’s playing well,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We have a guy that can lead off and make things happen. He makes a lot of guys around him better.
“You see him running the bases, and it’s contagious. We went from first to third last week more than I ever remember, and that’s good to see your ballclub playing like that.”
“I’m feeling more comfortable in the leadoff role,” Podsednik said. “I’m just trying to provide some energy at the top.”
Sox starter Gavin Floyd, moved up a day in the rotation to give Bartolo Colon an extra day of rest, put his team in an immediate hole when Matt Holliday blasted a two-out, two-run homer high into the left-field stands in the first.
The Sox chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the first, with Podsednik walking, going to third on a single by Alexei Ramirez and scoring on Dye’s sacrifice fly. But that’s all they could get, as Thome struck out and Konerko hit a fly ball to left field that Holliday went over the fence to grab.
Floyd and Oakland starter Trevor Cahill settled down after that, with the next runner a wasted leadoff double by Holliday in the fourth.
The next Sox baserunner wasn’t on the bases long as A.J. Pierzynski shot a pitch into the right-field seats to tie the score at 2.
This was the third straight strong outing for Floyd, who started the game with a 6.12 ERA. In those three games, he has allowed four runs in 23 innings, lowering his ERA to 5.74.
Floyd allowed only four hits and three walks and struck out eight, although his record remained 3-5 after he won 17 last season.
The Sox wasted a chance to give Floyd the lead when they left two runners on in the sixth. Dye and Thome were on when Konerko hit into a force play and Pierzynski struck out.
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Big number
8/10
The next time the White Sox play any game outside of the American or National League Central is Aug. 10, the start of a trip to Seattle and Oakland.
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dvandyck@tribune.com
Up next
Tuesday vs. A’s, 7:11 p.m., CSN
