BIG HURT PUTS ONE ON TIGERS
Sox DH has 5 HRs in Last Two Games
CHICAGO, July 17 (AP) - Just two days after the All-Star Game was played on the
same field, the Chicago White Sox put on a performance worthy of the mid-season
classic. Frank Thomas belted three home runs, giving him a major
league-leading 36 on the season, and drove in five runs as part of a five-hit
day to lead his team to a 13-2 beat down of the Detroit Tigers. It was
Detroit's 10th consecutive loss. Thomas' all-star teammate, Bartolo Colon,
cruised to his 12th win of the year, allowing one earned run in seven innings of
work. Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Carl Everett also homered for the White
Sox who set a new club high for home runs in a single game this season with six,
tying the AL high water mark in the process.
The White Sox took a lead they would never surrender in the first inning, when
Thomas hit his first home run of the game with two outs off Detroit starter Mike
Maroth (3-13). Chicago added to its lead in the second when Lee was hit by
a pitch leading off the inning and rode home one out later on Konerko's 12th
long ball of the campaign. Thomas belted his second homer of the contest
in the third to give the White Sox a 4-0 advantage.
The Tigers tried to make a game of it in the middle innings, pushing across solo
runs in the fifth and sixth. The fifth inning tally was unearned; Carlos
Pena led off by reaching on shortstop Tony Graffanino's error, then scored two
batters later on Eric Munson's single. Pena's ninth home run of the year,
coming with the bases empty and two outs in the sixth, drew Detroit to within
4-2.
But the White Sox got both runs back in the home half of the sixth. Lee
led off with a single, stole second and then scored via a home run for the
second time in the game. This time it was Everett supplying the long ball;
the two-run shot was his 20th homer of the season and his second since joining
the White Sox in early July.
Chicago emphatically blew the game open beginning in the seventh. Roberto
Alomar drew a lead-off walk from reliever Fernando Rodney, then moved to third
on Thomas' double. Magglio Ordonez struck out but Lee belted a three-run
homer to left, putting the White Sox ahead 9-2. Danny Patterson came on to
pitch for the Tigers but allowed a double to Everett and, one out later, a
run-scoring single to Joe Crede.
The White Sox added insult to injury with three more runs in the eighth.
Graffanino and Alomar lined back-to-back singles opening the inning against
Chris Spurling and Thomas administered the coup de grace with a three-run bomb
into the left field bullpen, accounting for the final score.
The three-home run game for Thomas is the ninth of the major league season to
date and the third in the month of July. Michael Young of Texas and Albert
Pujols of St. Louis both accomplished the feat on July 2. After slumping
for much of the first two weeks of July, Thomas ended the first half of the
season with a bang, hitting a pair of home runs and driving in five against
Cleveland on July 13. In his last two games, Thomas is 8-fo-9 with two
doubles, five home runs, 10 runs batted in and six runs scored.
7/17/2003, Det03-CWS03, U.S. Cellular Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2003 Tigers 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 9 1 8 0 2003 White Sox 1 2 1 0 0 2 4 3 x 13 14 1 5 1 Tigers AB R H BI AVG White Sox AB R H BI AVG Sanchez,A cf 5 0 1 0 .260 Graffanino ss 5 1 1 0 .292 Morris,W 2b 4 0 0 0 .301 Alomar,R 2b 4 2 1 0 .296 Young,D lf 4 0 0 0 .320 Thomas,F dh 5 4 5 5 .277 Witt dh 4 0 0 0 .319 Ordonez,M rf 5 0 0 0 .310 Pena,C 1b 4 2 1 1 .179 Lee,Ca lf 3 3 2 3 .271 Monroe rf 4 0 2 0 .283 Rowand lf 0 0 0 0 .246 Munson 3b 4 0 2 1 .236 Everett,C cf 5 2 2 2 .298 Hinch c 4 0 1 0 .167 Konerko 1b 4 1 1 2 .283 Santiago,R ss 3 0 2 0 .276 Crede 3b 4 0 2 1 .259 36 2 9 2 Olivo c 4 0 0 0 .230 39 13 14 13 Tigers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Maroth L 3-13 5.0 6 6 6 0 2 78 56 5.98 Rodney 1.1 3 3 3 1 2 38 22 10.24 Patterson,D 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 18 11 13.50 Spurling 1.0 3 3 3 0 0 19 13 4.14 8.0 14 13 13 1 5 153 102 White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Colon W 12-3 7.0 7 2 1 1 9 97 66 2.92 White,Ri 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 11 10 6.65 Koch 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 17 12 6.29 9.0 9 2 1 1 12 125 88 CWS: Rowand inserted at lf in the 9th E-Monroe, Graffanino. 2B-Thomas,F(18), Everett,C(20). HR-Pena,C(9), Thomas,F 3(36), Lee,Ca(14), Everett,C(20), Konerko(12). RBI-Pena,C(32), Munson(34), Thomas,F 5(79), Lee,Ca 3(55), Everett,C 2(61), Konerko 2(35), Crede(45). SB-Santiago,R(6), Lee,Ca(8). K-Sanchez,A, Morris,W, Young,D, Witt 3, Pena,C, Monroe, Munson, Hinch 2, Santiago,R, Ordonez,M, Konerko, Olivo 3. BB-Santiago,R, Alomar,R. HBP-Lee,Ca 2. HB-Maroth 2. GWRBI: Thomas,F Temperature: 80, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from right at 24 MPH. Attendance: 28,357 Game Time: 2:40