The Long and Short of It

I taped yesterday’s White Sox game for something to watch while riding the exercycle. Given that the Sox managed but one hit over seven innings, I was all caught up by the time I showered and dressed for a Mother’s Day dinner with Michele’s mom. What a difference ten or fifteen minutes make. First, the much-maligned—by yours truly—Randal Grichuk left off the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit homerun that tied the score at one. Drew Romo followed with a longish ball of his own, a double to the corner in right. But teams do not win by the long ball alone. Which is another way of saying Sam Antonacci laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving Romo to third, the better to score on a very short fly to left. Let’s just say Randy Arozarena’s arm will never be confused with Carl Yasztremski’s. Sox take the rubber game against the Mariners, 2-1, this against Seattle reliever Eduardo Bastardo, who entered the game with a 1.53 ERA over 17.2 innings, and this despite closer Seranthony Dominguez loading the bases with one out in the ninth. It’s been a while since the Sox have pulled off wins like this. That said, they’re still two games under .500, at 19-21. The Royals come to town Tuesday, followed by the Cubs. Talk about two teams I’d love to beat to get over the hump, it’s them.