The White Sox offense scored 13 runs and played errorless ball Saturday night, both rarities.
Could Jake Peavy have had something to do with it even though he never batted?
“I believe so,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “He prepares himself real well and expects everybody to do the same thing. It’s nice to see a guy out there who makes his teammates play better and pumps them up.”
Peavy’s long-awaited debut was a 13-3 success over the Royals — thanks to Carlos Quentin’s fifth-inning grand slam — and it helped close the gap with the first-place Tigers to 5 1/2 games in the American League Central.
In his first major-league start since June 8 with the Padres, Peavy finished the night giving up three runs on three hits in five innings. He threw 73 pitches, 47 of them strikes, before a crowd of 28,329 at U.S. Cellular Field.
He walked two batters and struck out five, including three of the first four, and used all his pitches, with his fastball topping out in the low-90 m.p.h. range.
“Once you get out there, it’s like riding a bike,” Peavy said. “It comes back to you. I did some things well and some not so well. I have a long way to go, but I’ll take my chances with my teammates any time.
“My arm strength is going to get better. I’ll have a little more giddy-up that will come in time. I’m not 100 percent where I want to be, but I enjoyed competing.”
And, obviously, the Sox enjoyed the result, as the offense came alive with 14 hits, including two each by Jermaine Dye and Alex Rios, who drove in his first run since Aug. 28, and the first big-league hit for designated hitter Tyler Flowers.
But the story was Peavy, the former Cy Young Award winner who came in trade July 31 but had to rehab from a strained right ankle tendon and bruised right elbow.
Obviously strong at the beginning, he breezed through the first inning on 13 pitches, striking out a pair on wicked sliders before the Sox scored an unearned run on A.J. Pierzynski’s single.
He also started the second inning with a strikeout, and then the trouble started.
Alberto Callaspo singled, Miguel Olivo walked and Alex Gordon singled for one run. Then, with Olivo on third, Yuniesky Betancourt dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt.
In the third, Billy Butler powered a fastball over the right-field wall to put the Royals ahead 3-1.
Peavy said he could have gone out for the sixth inning, but Guillen decided against it.
While he expects normal soreness Sunday, Peavy gets two more starts before this season ends, at least one against the Tigers.
And just in case the enthusiasm Saturday wasn’t enough, Guillen reiterated why Peavy was allowed to pitch this season instead of being shut down.
“Why? Because we have him here,” Guillen said. “I said two weeks ago I’d like to see him before we leave, whether we’re in the pennant race or not, to see what we have for spring training. He has had a nice vacation.”
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HOW THEY SCORED
WHITE SOX FIRST: Nix safe at first on Gordon’s error. Beckham singled, Nix to third. Pierzynski singled, scoring Nix, Beckham to third. Konerko flied out. Ramirez double play, Pierzynski out. One run. White Sox 1-0.
ROYALS SECOND: Jacobs struck out. Callaspo singled. Olivo walked, Callaspo to second. Gordon singled, scoring Callaspo, Olivo to third. Betancourt sacrificed, scoring Olivo, Gordon to second. Anderson lined out. Two runs. Royals 2-1.
ROYALS THIRD: Bloomquist struck out. Maier grounded out. Butler homered. Jacobs struck out. One run. Royals 3-1.
WHITE SOX THIRD: Beckham struck out. Pierzynski struck out. Konerko homered. Ramirez grounded out. One run. Royals 3-2.
WHITE SOX FOURTH: Dye singled. Quentin walked, Dye to second. Rios singled, scoring Dye, Quentin to second. Flowers struck out. Nix struck out. Beckham flied out. One run. Tied 3-3.
WHITE SOX FIFTH: Pierzynski struck out. Konerko walked. Yabuta pitching. Ramirez singled, Konerko to second. Dye walked, Konerko to third, Ramirez to second. Quentin homered, scoring Konerko, Ramirez and Dye. Rios grounded out. Flowers struck out. Four runs. White Sox 7-3.
WHITE SOX EIGHTH: Rios singled. Flowers singled, Rios to second. Nix singled, scoring Rios, Flowers to second. Beckham flied out. On wild pitch, Flowers to third, Nix to second. Pierzynski walked. Konerko singled, scoring Flowers, Nix to third, Pierzynski to second. Rosa pitching. Ramirez doubled, scoring Nix and Pierzynski, Konerko to third. Dye singled, scoring Konerko and Ramirez. Quentin singled, Dye to second. Rios double play, Quentin out. Six runs. White Sox 13-3.
Tragic number
9. Combination of White Sox losses and Tigers wins that will eliminate Sox.
Up next Sunday vs. Royals, 1:05 p.m., CSN
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dvandyck@tribune.com
