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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox don't need help scoring
runs. The Boston Red Sox gave it to them anyway.
Magglio Ordonez singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh
inning after first baseman Brian Daubach dropped his wind-blown
foul popup for an error as Chicago overcame its own miscues for an
8-5 win Friday night.
"I was lucky to get another chance. You don't see that very
often," Ordonez said. "You've got to take advantage."
He did that with his third hit of the game, an RBI single that
gave baseball's highest scoring team a 6-5 lead in the seventh.
"It was a tough play," Daubach said of his first error of the
year. "The wind was blowing as hard as I've seen it in the last
two years. Every popup in the infield was tricky. Even if I made
the play, they still might have scored."
If he had caught the ball, the White Sox would have had runners
at first and third with two outs. Instead, Ordonez's single to
center off Hipolito Pichardo (4-2) scored Tony Graffanino, who
walked and took third on Frank Thomas' single.
It was Ordonez's 51st RBI in his last 46 games for the team with
baseball's best record and the AL's second best batting average --
and second worst fielding average.
Chicago shortstop Jose Valentin made two errors in the sixth
that allowed Boston to tie the game at 5 but added a homer and
three RBIs.
"He's kind of been in a little rut defensively," White Sox
manager Jerry Manuel said, "but offensively, he's been impressive
all year."
Chicago moved 11 1/2 games ahead of second-place Cleveland in the
AL Central, the biggest division lead in baseball. Boston, third in
the AL East, dropped two games behind the New York Yankees despite
a shaky outing by Chicago ace James Baldwin.
"Baldwin wasn't as sharp as we've seen him," Boston's Scott
Hatteberg said. "He got hurt because he fell behind in the
count."
Baldwin, who is 12-4 but 2-3 in his last six starts, "can't go out and
dominate every time like he did. The plate's only so big and
they're going to figure him out," said Paul Konerko, whose hitting
streak ended at 13 games.
Baldwin gave up two homers, bringing his total to 26. Only Jeff
Suppan of Kansas City, with 27, has thrown more. Troy O'Leary's
three-run shot gave Boston a 3-1 lead after one inning and Ed
Sprague's solo homer made it 4-2 in the fourth.
Bill Simas (2-2) got the win after relieving Baldwin in the
sixth and getting the last two outs. It wasn't the smoothest inning
for Valentin.
O'Leary singled and took second on Valentin's throwing error on
Jason Varitek's grounder. Hatteberg walked, loading the bases with
one out. Simas came in and got Darren Lewis to hit a routine
grounder to Valentin for a potential inning-ending double play.
Instead, Valentin misplayed the ball, allowing O'Leary to score
the tying run. Jose Offerman then hit another grounder to Valentin,
and this time he started the double play.
"We feel very good with him at shortstop," Manuel said. "They
hit it to him again and he made the play."
Chicago added two runs in the eighth on Valentin's sacrifice fly
and Thomas' RBI single.
Bob Howry pitched two innings for his fifth save.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead when Valentin led off the game with his
15th homer of the season. Boston went ahead 3-1 in the bottom half
on O'Leary's homer after a walk to Offerman and a single by Nomar
Garciaparra.
The White Sox cut that to 3-2 in the second when Carlos Lee
walked, took third on Herbert Perry's double and scored on
Valentin's groundout.
Sprague's homer was his first since being acquired from San
Diego on June 30. Brook Fordyce got that back when he hit Tim
Wakefield's first pitch in the fifth for his fifth homer.
The White Sox took a 5-4 lead with two runs in the sixth.
Ordonez doubled, stole third and scored on Konerko's sacrifice fly.
The other run scored on a single by Chris Singleton, a walk to Lee
and an RBI single by Fordyce.
Game notes
Right fielder Trot Nixon went 2-for-5 with a single and a
grand slam in a rehabilitation appearance for Boston's rookie team
in Fort Myers, Fla., the Gulf Coast Red Sox. ... Fordyce was shaken
up but stayed in the game after a second-inning collision at the
plate with Sprague, who was out trying to score standing up on
Hatteberg's double. ... Wakefield had won his previous four starts.
... Garciaparra went 1-for-4, lowering his average from .396 to
.394.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Chi. White Sox 8
Boston 5
Kansas City 4
Detroit 0
NY Yankees 11
Tampa Bay 1
Baltimore 9
Toronto 5
Minnesota 2
Cleveland 1
Anaheim 12
Oakland 3
Seattle 12
Texas 3
Chicago Cubs 4
Milwaukee 2
Montreal 7
Florida 3
Pittsburgh 9
Philadelphia 2
Arizona 5
Cincinnati 4
Atlanta 6
NY Mets 3
St. Louis 12
Houston 1
San Diego 5
Colorado 1
Los Angeles 6
San Francisco 5
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