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 SAN FRANCISCO -- You wouldn't expect to hear it from the hero of
the night, but Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham
wishes Tuesday's 3-2, 10-inning win over the San Francisco Giants
had ended differently.
One inning earlier would have been nice.
After nearly saving a regulation win with a brilliant defensive play
in the bottom of the ninth inning, Beckham singled home Moises
Sierra with two outs in the top of the 10th, rallying the White Sox
past the Giants in the opener of a two-game interleague series.
"Chris (Sale) deserved the win," Beckham said of the White Sox
starting pitcher, who handed a 2-0 lead to the bullpen after eight
shutout innings. "I wish it had ended there (with his defensive play
in the ninth)."
Instead, the White Sox had to regroup against right-hander Santiago
Casilla (1-2), the Giants' fourth pitcher, in the 10th.
Center fielder Jordan Danks drew a one-out walk off Casilla, then
went to third on a single by Sierra, who had entered the game as a
defensive replacement in the ninth.
After Sierra stole second, Danks got gunned down at the plate trying
to score on left fielder Alejandro De Aza's groundball to Giants
reserve second baseman Matt Duffy.
But Beckham, who just minutes earlier had helped prevent a total
Chicago collapse in the ninth, then stroked his two-out,
difference-making RBI single up the middle.
"I'd been grinding all night," Beckham said of going 0-for-4 before
his big hit. "I felt I had good at-bats, but the ball wasn't
falling. It feels nice to help our team win."
Right-hander Zach Putnam (4-2), the third White Sox pitcher, got the
win after bailing out the club in the ninth and pitching a scoreless
10th.
The win was Chicago's fifth in a row in interleague play and sixth
straight over the Giants dating back to 2008.
After Sale had blanked the Giants on four hits over eight innings,
White Sox closer Jake Petricka couldn't hold a 2-0 lead in the
ninth, giving up two game-tying runs on four hits.
The Giants loaded the bases off Petricka on successive,
inning-opening singles by third baseman Pablo Sandoval, left fielder
Michael Morse and pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa.
Then after Beckham appeared to have saved the game with a diving
stop that he turned into a double play while Sandoval was scoring
from third base, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford delivered a
two-out, two-strike single to right field to plate pinch-runner
Duffy and tie the score.
With the White Sox staring at what would have been their 31st loss
in a game they once led, Putnam replaced Petricka and struck out
pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco to send the game into extra innings.
"Last year it was that way: 'Here we go again,'" Beckham said of the
unusually high number of blown leads. "This year I don't think we
feel that way. I feel we're playing the right way this year."
Right fielder Adam Dunn hit a two-run home run off Giants
right-hander Ryan Vogelsong in the first inning, giving Sale a
cushion he protected until leaving after throwing 117 pitches in
eight innings. In lowering his road ERA to 1.57 in seven starts this
season, the All-Star struck out a season-best-tying 12. He walked
two.
"A win is a win. It's not who gets it; it's how you get it," Sale
said, showing no signs of disappointment in being denied an 11th
win. "I'm excited. Anytime you can win, and win the first game of a
series ... especially in a place like this."
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Sale has now recorded 10 or more strikeouts six times this season and 16
times in his career.
Right fielder Hunter Pence had the only extra-base hit -- a first-inning
triple -- for the Giants, who out-hit the White Sox 9-5 and yet lost for
the ninth time in their last 10 interleague games and 22nd time in their
last 29 home contests.
"The only thing you can do is keep battling," insisted Giants manager
Bruce Bochy. "It's a tough group that bounced back well. I know we're
having a tough go here."
Vogelsong, who had won his first two August starts, allowing a total of
just two runs, was one strike away from being a hard-luck loser. Other
than Dunn's home run, he allowed only two other hits and no other runs
in seven innings. He walked two and struck out five.
"Keep showing resiliency and digging deep to show what's inside of you,"
Vogelsong said of the Giants' mind-set on a night they fell six games
behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. "That's what
we did in 2012. That's what it's going to take this year, too."
Dunn's home run in the first was made possible by the hustle of White
Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, who barely beat a relay throw to first
base on what could have been an inning-ending double-play grounder to
third.
Two pitches later, the visitors went up 2-0 when Dunn smacked a
Vogelsong fastball into the bleachers in left-center field.
The home run was Dunn's 18th of the season and 458th of his career,
moving him ahead of Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and into
second place among active players.
NOTES: Fans at AT&T Park observed a moment of silence before the game in
recognition of the death of comedian/actor Robin Williams, a San
Francisco Bay Area native and longtime Giants fan. ... White Sox LHP
Chris Sale has struck out 12 or more batters in a game a
franchise-leading nine times in his career. ... Sale (10-2) has received
a no-decision after leaving the game with a lead four times this season.
... Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong has received zero runs of offensive
support while in the game in six of his last nine starts. ... Giants RHP
Matt Cain paraded through the home clubhouse before the game, showing
off the bone chips removed from his right elbow in a surgery Monday. The
procedure was labeled a success, and Cain is expected to be fully
recovered in time for the start of spring training in February. ...
Before the game, the White Sox reinstated RHP Matt Lindstrom from the
disabled list, filling a roster spot left open when LHP Eric Surkamp was
optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.
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