It doesn’t matter what the components are as long as the results are satisfying to the White Sox.
In the case of Tuesday night’s 5-1 victory over the Mariners and 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez, the Sox relied on the continued excellence of journeyman Phil Humber and a timely contribution from ageless Omar Vizquel.
While slumping slugger Adam Dunn sat for the first of a couple of nights, Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin supplied the power with home runs to provide a cozy feeling for the crowd of 21,337 that sat in 90-degree weather at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Sox extended their home winning streak over the Mariners to 10 games, but more impressive was they used some ingredients they didn’t count on heavily when the season started.
Since taking Jake Peavy’s spot in the rotation, Humber has become dependable. For the seventh time in his last eight starts, Humber (5-3) allowed three earned runs or fewer, and the Mariners didn’t collect an extra base hit against him after Luis Rodriguez doubled with one out in the first.
“I always had a great breaking ball, but in years past I had to lean on it too much,” Humber said. “When the hitters can eliminate pitches, they take a lot better swings. I’m just trying to fill the strike zone up with multiple pitches and changing speeds.”
Humber received a standing ovation after leaving with two outs in the eighth.
“The only thing that comes close was my first start at Shea Stadium (in 2006),” Humber said. “After the first inning, the crowd got loud. It’s always nice to hear the fans behind you and you definitely appreciate their support.”
Although the Sox (30-33) didn’t cut their six-game deficit to the Indians in the AL Central, they moved to three games below .500 for the second time since April 22.
At the plate, Vizquel, 44, came through with a two-run triple and Quentin followed with a two-run homer off Hernandez to cap a four-run third.
“Every time you face a guy of that caliber, you have to step it up a notch, and we’ve been doing it,” manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Konerko’s homer in the first moved him into a tie for 61st on the all-time list with Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez at 379.
Guillen hoped that sitting Dunn, who is in an 8-for-72 slump (.111), would “refresh his mind, get his stuff together and hopefully start over.”
“That’s the reason I did it,” Guillen said. “Hopefully that works. We’ve been doing a lot of different things with him and nothing works. Hopefully a little break for a couple of days recharges his batteries.”
Twitter @MDGonzales
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