White Sox 7, Orioles 5: Don't blame Felix!

For eight innings this was just one of those crappy games. It was one of those games where the pitching sucked, but you couldn't necessarily blame the loss on them because the hitting was just as terrible. The Orioles went into the 9th inning down 7-2 before a ninth inning rally brought the O's within two runs but it was too little, too late. 

The Orioles had the chance to get on the board in the second inning but did not thanks to a mental error by Adam Jones. Jones had a very good at-bat against Gavin Floyd, working a walk after seeing eight pitches. Pie followed that with a single to right field that moved Jones to third. With runners at the corners and none out, Matt Wieters hit a double play ball to first base. Adam Jones froze at third, though, and didn't score. Cesar Izturis grounded out to end the inning. 

The Orioles got on the board in the fourth inning as Luke Scott led off with his 25th home run of the year. That ties Luke's total for last year and matches his career high. How can you not love Luke Scott? After Scott's home run, Floyd hit Adam Jones in the back and Pie lined a ball back up the middle for hit second single of the night. Again, Adam moved to third and again Matt Wieters hit a ground ball. Adam, who had learned his lesson, scored from third. The White Sox couldn't get anyone to cover first so the double play wasn't completed, but Floyd retired Izzy and Josh Bell to end the inning. 

Jeremy Guthrie had a rough night, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up six runs on ten hits and two walks. He allowed base runners in each of the first three innings but managed to work out of trouble and even keep his pitch count kind of low. In the first he survived a lead off single by inducing a double play ball from Omar Vizquel. In the second he worked three fly ball outs around a double and a walk, and in the third inning he was the beneficiary of a fantastic diving catch by Felix Pie who threw to first base to double up Gordan Beckham.

Guthrie wasn't so lucky in the fourth and fifth innings as he allowed one run in each. He looked especially shaky in the fifth when he not only gave up a double but also walked one batter and hit another, but his defense helped him out as Matt Wieters picked off Beckham at first with two outs. 

Guthrie's big trouble came in the 7th inning when, after a Pierzynski single and a Mark Teahan double, Beckham made up for getting picked off  and doubled up by hitting a three run home run to center field. The White Sox weren't finished, though, as Juan Pierre doubled and then scored on a single by Paul Konerko (courtesy of Matt Albers, who relieved Guthrie after he hit Rios). 

The Orioles pitching staff wasn't quite finished sucking, though, because Alfredo Simon was called on to pitch the 8th. He allowed three singles and one run, but was saved by Felix Pie who threw out Mark Teahan trying to sneak to third base (Felix moved to center after Jones was taken out of the game with a bruised shoulder).

The Orioles went into the 9th inning trailing by five runs and with Izturis, Bell, and Roberts coming to the plate. The White Sox sent out Sergio Santos to get the job done but, well, he wouldn't. Santos walked Izzy, which is pretty much an impossible thing to do, then allowed back-to-back singles by Bell and Roberts, with Izzy scoring on Brian's hit. Santos then threw a wild pitch allowing the runners to move up, and a single by Nick Markakis to score Bell. That made the score 7-4 with runners on the corners and none out, and that would be it for Santos. He was replaced by J.J. Putz who went 3-0 on Ty Wigginton before exiting with an injury. Closer Bobby Jenks and his douchey facial hair came in to relieve him and after a number of foul balls Jenks made a pretty nice play to snag a hard hit ball and start the 1-4-3 double play. Roberts scored on the play but the Orioles had gone from the tying run at the plate with no outs to the tying run on deck with two outs. Luke Scott battled Jenks for seven pitches but ultimately flew out to center to end the game. 

The White Sox get game one of the series and combined with the Twins loss moved within 3.5 games of first. The Orioles lost their 82nd  game of the year thus ensuring they'll have a losing season for the thirteenth consecutive year.