Stunned by a monumental bullpen collapse, the White Sox showed their resolve and validated their position atop the AL Central.Paul Konerko’s single with one out in the bottom of the ninth — his third hit of the game — gave the Sox a dramatic 9-8 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.The Sox bullpen imploded and allowed six runs in the top of the ninth before the White Sox rallied for two runs in the bottom half to snap Seattle’s eight-game winning streak.
“From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in about a two-minute span,” catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “It was fun. Obviously it was a huge win, not only for the way that it happened because of everything that’s going on with the pennant race and everything. It’s a huge team win.We feel bad because of the way we blew it, but you feel great because of the way we won it.”
Kevin Youkilis singled to drive in the tying run off Tom Wilhelmsen (4-3), and Konerko lined a gapper to the opposite field. Outfielders Michael Saunders and Eric Thames collided as the ball popped out of Thames’ glove and Dewayne Wise crossed the plate.
“I had a pretty good beat on it,” Thames said. “I looked up and I saw [Saunders] running and I went for it and I caught it, but my elbow hit him and it was a pretty bad collision. I caught it, spun around and the ball [went flying].”
Addison Reed (3-1) earned the win despite blowing his fourth save.Adam Dunn hit two home runs to increase his major league-leading total to 38 and Alexei Ramirez homered and drove in three runs for the White Sox.
“It’s a nice win to a horrible loss to a good win again,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “It’s just good for the guys to go out there and battle back when it looks bleak.”
Trayvon Robinson and Jesus Montero homered for Seattle.Jake Peavy pitched seven strong innings as the Sox extended their lead in the AL Central to 2½ games with Detroit losing to Los Angeles.Montero homered off Phil Humber leading off the ninth. After a one-out walk, he was relieved by Donnie Veal, who allowed a double to Robinson.Reed entered with two on and one out and walked Brendan Ryan to load the bases. Dustin Ackley hit a two-run single, Kyle Seager hit a sacrifice fly and John Jaso had the big blow with a single over second baseman Gordon Beckham’s head to tie the game.Saunders scored on an errant throw by right fielder Alex Rios to give Seattle the 8-7 lead.The Sox surrendered a lead of five runs or more in the ninth inning or later for the first time since May 28, 1998 at Detroit, according to White Sox media relations.Ramirez added a two-run homer for the Sox, who won their fourth straight following a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees.Seattle has lost 22 of its last 26 games against the White Sox, spanning the last three seasons.
“It was a great comeback by our guys, that’s what I’m thinking about right now,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “It was an emotional last inning. Obviously went back and forth, but to come back down five runs down and score six against a good team like we’re playing, it says a lot about our guys and how far they’ve come.”
Seattle lost for just the second time in 12 games.Dunn hit a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third off Seattle southpaw Jason Vargas.It was Dunn’s third multihomer run game this season and the 33rd of his career.Ramirez went deep in the fourth inning to give the White Sox a 6-2 lead.He also had a two-out RBI single in second. Ramirez is hitting .389 with two outs and a runner on third this season.Peavy had received fewer than three runs’ support per game over his last 12 starts, but the 31-year-old enjoyed the rare offense as he recovered from a bumpy start to continue his own dominance of the Mariners.Ackley jumped on Peavy immediately with a first-pitch double leading off the game and came around to score on Saunders’ RBI single.Robinson hit a two-out, solo home run in the second inning. The dead-center field shot was his first of the season, but Peavy put up zeros the next five frames to send the Mariners to just their second loss in 12 contests.Robinson and Ackley had three hits apiece and Ackley drove in two runs.Peavy was charged with two runs and seven hits over seven innings. He is 5-1 with a 2.25 ERA in nine career starts against Seattle.Vargas lasted just four innings, his shortest outing of the season. He allowed six runs and seven hits – including three home runs.Vargas was 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA over his previous 10 starts before running into the homer-happy Sox bats, which have hit a league-best 41 homers in the month of August.
NOTES—Alejandro De Aza (oblique) resumed baseball activities Friday. Ventura said he anticipates a rehab assignment before the 28-year-old is activated…. Mariners OF Franklin Gutierrez (concussion) served as the DH in a Triple-A rehab game with Tacoma. He is expected to play in the field on Saturday….RHP Blake Beavan (8-7, 5.00 ERA) will start Saturday for the Mariners against White Sox LHP Jose Quintana (5-2, 2.76).