A huge night for Avisail Garcia. A few in the media even suggested the White Sox should consider the former South Side employee as an addition or replacement in the front office. And when asked if his ace did anything differently Monday night, White Sox manager Robin Ventura replied, “Maybe. He’s good at all his pitches for strikes and he can throw them for balls, too”. Those were three one-run ballgames. “Those are kind of hard to swallow sometimes, but what a way to start off (this series) on the right foot at home”. The Chicago White Sox have split their last six home games. The bigger highlights belonged to Garcia. The first was a solo shot in the fourth inning, as he hit the bejeezus out of a hanging Matt Shoemaker slider to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. He allowed those two runs in the easiest way possible – after starting with six shutout innings and with the White Sox leading 7-0.
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Sale is 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA in seven career games against the Angels, giving up 16 hits, striking out 34 and walking six in 31 innings. 285 during that stretch. “I’ve been working on that”, Garcia said. “And those guys help me a lot, the manager, (hitting coach Todd) Steverson”. The White Sox are a risky hitting team with 283 extra base hits, one of the highest totals in the Major League Baseball. Everybody goes though that a little differently. The Angels’ Mike Trout has just two hits in 11 career at-bats against White Sox starter Chris Sale, but one was a grand slam on a full-count changeup last season that rallied the Angels to a victory in the late innings….
Chris Sale said he really hasn’t made any changes to his pitching approach. “It’s always nice when you get a cushion”.
“You’re not going to sit around and wait for a slider or changeup”. Heaney allowed 4 earned runs on 10 hits over 52/Three innings in his final begin towards the Orioles. “We fought today”.
Doug joined ESPN Chicago in July 2010 and covers the Chicago White Sox for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN Radio 1000. The Angels will need to get more production out of their batting order if they’re going to go the distance.
Because the White Sox are so left-handed loaded in the rotation, they have faced more right-handed stacked lineups.
“I think when it’s a team win, you feel that way”, Ventura said.
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Sale has been far from his best this year.
