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GAME LOG
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Frank Thomas makes his first pinch-hit
appearance of the season and hits the first pinch homer of his
career. That's how things are going these days for the Chicago
White Sox.
Thomas' two-run homer topped Ken Griffey Jr.'s three-run shot
Wednesday and rallied the White Sox to a 6-4 victory and three-game
sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
Thomas' sixth-inning homer off Rob Bell (4-4) sent the White Sox
to their seventh victory in eight games and finished an impressive
road trip by the AL Central leaders.
Chicago went 7-2 in Seattle, Houston and Cincinnati to improve
the AL's best record to 35-23. The White Sox are 12 games over .500
for the first time since September 1996.
"You come in here and play a team that just swept (Minnesota)
and you get three wins on them, that's an outstanding trip,"
manager Jerry Manuel said. "I'm proud of the way they hung in
there."
It's reminiscent of the Cincinnati team that got on a roll on
the road last June and surprised everyone by winning 96 games.
"I think everybody was asking questions about the White Sox,
like they were about us last year," Reds first baseman Sean Casey
said. "But they're for real. They're definitely a team to be
reckoned with."
They were at their best during their first three-game road sweep
of the season. Chicago scored 27 runs on 37 hits in the series,
piling up four homers, 11 doubles and a triple.
"They're playing the exact same way that we played last year,"
Reds manager Jack McKeon said. "They've got some young guys that
they're juggling around and they're getting good pitching."
The Reds completed their longest homestand of the season at 5-7,
wasting a chance to open a lead in the NL Central.
Both teams are headed for bragging-rights series this weekend --
the Reds for three games in Cleveland; the White Sox for three at
Comiskey Park against the Cubs.
Roughly 12 hours after the White Sox finished a 17-run, 19-hit
spree against four Reds pitchers, they relied on Thomas -- the
catalyst in that win -- to set up another.
Griffey's three-run homer in the first off Jim Parque (6-2)
allowed the Reds to take a 3-1 lead into the sixth. Brook Fordyce
hit into a run-scoring forceout for the second out, bringing up the
pitcher's spot.
Manuel had been saving Thomas for the right spot to pinch hit.
He sensed this was it.
"I thought he had thrown enough pitches to where a fresh hitter
could put a good swing on it," Manuel said. "And there's no
better hitter than Frank Thomas."
Thomas, who has been a designated hitter but not a pinch hitter
this season, was 3-for-12 career off the bench. He pulled a 1-1
pitch for his 13th homer of the season and a 4-3 lead.
"I've been DHing most of the season, so it's not like I was ice
cold," Thomas said. "I kept loose during the game knowing I was
going to pinch hit. It was a good time right there."
Thomas emerged from a 2-for-21 slump the last two games. He hit
a three-run homer and drove in four runs in Tuesday's night
offensive avalanche.
Jeff Abbott added a two-run double in the seventh off Scott
Williamson as part of a three-hit, three-RBI game. Bob Howry struck
out the side in the eighth and Keith Foulke pitched the ninth,
converting his 13th consecutive save chance after giving up Pokey
Reese's RBI single.
Parque settled in after having trouble with the first three
batters. Reese led off the first with a hard single up the middle
and Barry Larkin hit a soft opposite-field double off the handle of
his bat.
Griffey then hit a high, arching fly to left that carried over
the wall for his 16th homer. Griffey is 6-for-15 career off the
left-hander.
Griffey has only two homers and three singles in his last 35
at-bats, leaving his average at .215.
Game notes
The White Sox are 29-26 in interleague play. Cincinnati is
26-23. ... Carlos Lee's first-inning single extended his hitting
streak to a career-high nine games (15-for-34). ... Parque's seven
strikeouts matched his career high. ... Paul Konerko, who spent the
second half of the 1998 season with the Reds before being traded to
Chicago, was 3-for-5 with a pair of walks in the series against his
former team. ... Griffey's homer was his 414th, tying Darrell Evans
for 27th on the career list. ... Bell struck out in both of his
at-bats, leaving the rookie 0-for-18 with 12 strikeouts. He also
threw two wild pitches, raising the Reds' total to 47, most in the
majors. ... Dante Bichette was 0-for-4, ending his hitting streak
at 10 games. ... Benito Santiago's sidearm throw from his knees
caught Tony Graffanino trying to steal second base in the eighth.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Don't change 'em: White Sox wallop Reds 17-12
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