White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday’s win over the Angels. The 23-year-old has now gone 8-for-16 with three home runs and seven RBIs in his last four games, and he has already matched his career high with five long balls on the season.
CHICAGO — After one perfect inning of work in Sunday’s contest before 25,143 on Jackie Robinson Day at U.S. Cellular Field, White Sox starter Chris Sale had thrown a mere 10 pitches, nine of them for strikes.
That efficiency didn’t last long for the young southpaw, who exited the 5-2 loss to Detroit with nobody out in the top of the sixth inning after 102 pitches.
What Sale (1-1) did probably wouldn’t have mattered on this afternoon, mainly because of Rick Porcello’s dominance. Porcello, who became the first Tigers starter to earn a victory this season, needed only five pitches to get through his perfect first inning and didn’t stop there.
The White Sox (5-3) managed five hits off Porcello, including doubles from Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn, but aside from Dayan Viciedo’s two-out homer in the eighth, the closest they came to scoring was Konerko’s leadoff double in the second. Meanwhile, the Tigers (6-3) scored one run in each of the third, fifth, sixth and ninth innings, snapping the White Sox four-game winning streak.
Sale followed up his quick first inning with the rare 33-pitch scoreless second, stranding runners on first and second. But the Tigers broke through in the third on Gerald Laird’s first home run. A wild pitch from Sale scored Jhonny Peralta with the game’s second run, although that scoring opportunity was set up by Laird’s wind-blown double landing in front of Alejandro De Aza that would have been caught on most days where there weren’t 17-mph gusts.
A Nate Jones wild pitch scored Prince Fielder in the sixth. The Tigers put the first four runners on base in the sixth but could manage only the one run.
While the White Sox were unable to start 3-0 at home for the first time since 2004, they did shut down the meat of Detroit’s order in Miguel Cabrera and Fielder. Cabrera didn’t have a hit over the three games, while Fielder knocked out three singles and a double.
An eighth-inning rally against Porcello and reliever Joaquin Benoit brought the go-ahead run to the plate in Brent Morel, after Eduardo Escobar singled and De Aza walked on four pitches with two outs. But Morel struck out on a pitch out of the strike zone on a full-count offering.
Detroit’s Ramon Santiago singled home a run in the ninth, followed by Fielder’s RBI single.
A.J. Pierzynski knocked in a run in the ninth inning against Jose Valverde. The White Sox had two runners on base, but Kosuke Fukudome and Viciedo were unable to extend the inning.
Source= Scott Merkin @MLB.com
CHICAGO — A near-perfect way to describe the White Sox play in their first six games under Robin Ventura came from the sixth inning of Friday’s 5-2 home-opening victory over Detroit before a sellout of 38,676 at U.S. Cellular Field.
Paul Konerko scored from first base on what was ruled a triple for A.J. Pierzynski.
That’s right, neither talented White Sox staple is exactly blessed with an abundance of speed. But there they were, racing around the bases to give the White Sox a three-run cushion against Max Scherzer.
This 2012 version of the White Sox might not score seven or eight runs per night. But they will put pressure on the other team to make them beat them.
“You want them to continue to score and put pressure on the other team,” said Ventura, when asked before the home opener as to what type of style he would like to see from his team. “You don’t want it to be a comfortable experience for the other team.”
Friday’s discomfort for the Tigers actually was provided by White Sox starter Jake Peavy, who completely dominated the American League Central favorite over 6 2/3 innings. Peavy yielded just one hit into the seventh, but a one-out walk to Miguel Cabrera and a 1-2 homer launched one out later down the left-field line by Delmon Young cut the White Sox lead to one.
Peavy departed after 94 pitches, having fanned eight. But the White Sox cushion quickly evaporated in that seventh, which can happen when facing a power-packed lineup such as Detroit. Left-handed-hitting Alex Avila singled to center off left-handed reliever Will Ohman, and Jhonny Peralta dropped a double in over third baseman Brent Morel against Addison Reed.
Reed held a 1-2 advantage on Andy Dirks, before Dirks launched what looked like a go-ahead double down the left-field line. But Dayan Viciedo made a diving catch to end the inning and keep the lead at one.
In the fifth inning, Viciedo broke a scoreless tie with a two-out homer against Scherzer. The White Sox added two in the sixth on Konerko’s two-out single to right, scoring Alejandro De Aza, and then the speedy combination of Konerko and Pierzynski on Pierzynski’s line drive down the right-field line.
Scherzer looked as good as Peavy, fanning 11 over six innings.
The Tigers rallied again in the eighth against Reed and Matt Thornton, putting runners on first and third with one out. But shortstop Alexei Ramirez made a diving stop of Miguel Cabrera’s grounder up the middle, flipped to Gordon Beckham at second with his glove and Beckham easily doubled up Cabrera to end the inning.
Source= Scott Merkin a reporter from MLB.com
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — A three-run home run by Dayan Viciedo in the sixth inning propelled the White Sox to a 13-10 win over the Reds on Sunday.
White Sox starter Jake Peavy gave up four runs and seven hits over four innings with one walk and five strikeouts. Reds starter Mat Latos, who did not miss an assignment after straining his left calf in his previous start, pitched 5 2/3 innings. Latos gave up five earned runs and eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
The White Sox got to Latos in the sixth after a Paul Konerko leadoff single. Alexei Ramirez followed with a ground ball to shortstop Paul Janish, but second baseman Miguel Cairo couldn’t hold the ball to complete a double-play throw to first base. A.J. Pierzynski followed with a double that first appeared to be a home run to right field. Viciedo caught a break however when his apparent foul ball toward left field blew back into play and cleared the fence for a three-run homer. “It definitely feels good,” Viciedo said of his first spring homer. “I wasn’t looking for a home run. It’s one of those things that I started off Spring Training a little bit slow. I’ve been working on things and as the games have continued to progress, I’m feeling better.”
The White Sox pulled away with a six-run seventh, highlighted by a two-run single from Brent Lillibridge, a Tyler Flowers RBI double and Erik Morrison’s two-run triple.
Chicago took an early 2-0 lead against Latos with one run in the first inning and one more in the second. Konerko’s two-out double to left field scored Alejandro De Aza in the top of the first. In the second, Pierzynski hit a leadoff single and later scored from third base on a sacrifice fly to left field by Gordon Beckham.
“Latos threw the ball good today,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “His velocity wasn’t as good, but his breaking ball was better. I didn’t see any signs of the calf [injury]. … This was a Wrigley Field wind blowing out game.”
In the Reds’ second inning against Peavy, Donald Lutz hit a leadoff double and scored from third on Todd Frazier’s infield hit. Rookie Devin Mesoraco stroked an RBI triple to right field. The bottom of the third featured a two-run single up the middle by Ryan Ludwick, who later homered, that scored Joey Votto and Jay Bruce.
Up next for White Sox: Gavin Floyd makes his final Cactus League appearance in the final White Sox game in Arizona, with Floyd scheduled to throw six innings or 110 pitches against the Brewers at Camelback Ranch. The game will start at 2:05 p.m. CT, with the White Sox traveling to Houston later Monday, and it will be the last free exclusive whitesox.com video webcast of Spring Training. Will Ohman is also scheduled to pitch, with Brent Lillibridge back at first base.
Sources: http://marksheldon.mlblogs.com
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=cws
Despite the loss Dayan Viciedo snapped the Royals no-hit bid with a double in the sixth and drew a walk in the eighth. The season is almost here stay tuned..
Coming off of two back to back solid seasons between Triple A and the Majors Dayan Viciedo will be starting in right field for the Whitesox in 2012. Expect to see a conditioned version of Viciedo this year. He will have more plate discipline. Its safe to say he’s more comfortable now having played state side for a few years now. He should adjust fine to MLB level pitching. He is going to be a beast once he settles in at Cellular field.