[cknox0723]

As the deadline for trades where we, in the immortal words of Spec Richardson, "don't have to get waivers", ticks nearer, the Pale Hose are coming together like Liverpool's finest. We've won four straight, and this recent string has guaranteed us a July record that will be our best yet, as we currently sit at 14-9.

Our road back home will start after today's ballgame, and though I'd love to end with a sweep, we'll have had our first plus .500 road trip regardless. To go out with a bang, The Hypothetical Power Forward will have to outduel studly young Rich Harden. It's a tall task, but who better for it than a 6'10" could-have-been NBA'er?

A hot start can do wonders to make me think that we're up to that task, and lo and behold, that's exactly what we get. Hacktastic Julio slaps Harden's second pitch past Carlos Pena for a real, live base hit, his first in some 16 at-bats and 20 plate appearances. Sensing the chance at a double play, our management team calls for a hit-and-run, and D.Y. smacks the first pitch he sees past both Julio Lugo and Junior Spivey, giving us men on the corners. Maggs draws a free pass on a 3-2 fastball that's a good six inches outside, and the bases are loaded for Brad Fullmer.

Braddy Bunch strikes out on three pitches, of course, and the count runs full on Joe Borchard. Just...don't...strike...out...Joe...

"Harden winds and here comes the 3-2, fastball hit hard to the right side. Spivey fields...bobbles it slightly, flips to second for one...but that's all. Joe Borchard's fielder's choice brings home Julio Lugo, and the Sox have a 1-0 lead."

Juan Uribe quickly takes two strikes, and I've resigned myself to one run, for one is more than we had. But Uribe fouls off a tough pitch, takes a fastball high, and then Harden catches too much of the plate with a 94 mile-an-hour heater. Uribe lashes it down the left field line, and by the time Rondell White has webbed it and quacked it back in to the infield, Uribe's got himself a standup double and we have ourselves a three-run lead. A standup chap, that Juan Uribe is. Joe Crede bounces to third to end the inning, but even I can't be cranky at him for that.

And Jon Rauch looks darned grateful to have that lead, coming out dealing against the top of the Tiger order. Leadoff hitter Nook Logan goes down on three strikes, the third a nasty 12-to-6 breaking ball that he misses by a foot. Tony Giarratano bounces to short on a 1-0 fastball, and Adrian Beltre hits a tapper to the other side of the infield on the second pitch he sees that Juan Uribe handles deftly and fires over to Brad Fullmer for the third out. That might have been the best inning we've had all year.

The second inning's not quite as pretty. We go down in order, and Rauch gets in trouble after getting two deep fly outs, hitting Carlos Pena and then giving up a single. But an intentional walk to bring up the pitcher pays off as Rich Harden flies out to center, leaving the bases loaded.

By the third inning, I'm starting to think that I might be watching Andersen's The Ugly Duckling. Harden sets our three best hitters, Young, Ordonez, and Fullmer, down with ease, and Rauch gets back into trouble. Tony Giarratano draws a one-out walk, swipes second and moves to third on a wild throw from Jason LaRue, and a fly ball to center brings him home to cut the lead to 3-1. Still, there's two outs, but singles by Rondell White and Reed Johnson give the Tigers a threat. A wild pitch puts both in scoring position for the dangerous Northeastern alumnus, Carlos Pena.

"Rauch from the wind...the 3-1 pitch is a fastball and Pena lines it to the gap in left-center. Dmitri Young on the run...he dives, and...OH, BABY, WHAT A CATCH! An all-out diving effort from Dmitri Young, and that keeps the lead in the hands of the Pale Hose by the count of 3-1!"

Rauch and Harden's pitch counts both edge around sixty after one-two-three fourth innings on both ends, and they move nearer to 70 amidst a 48 minute rain delay and a handful of at 'em balls in the fifth. Both pitchers get excellent defensive work from second basemen Uribe and Spivey in the sixth, and Rauch caps off the inning with a strikeout of Carlos Pena. That's fifteen straight retired by Rich Harden, and nine for Rauch as we enter the realm of the seventh frame.

Harden's quasi-perfect game ends after seventeen batters, not due to a hit or walk but because Alan Trammell calls on Nelson Cruz to retire Joe Crede, of all people. He does, but only thanks to a diving grab by Adrian Beltre. I, on the other hand, prefer to push my pitchers like an '87 Volvo, and Rauch is up to the task, setting down the bottom three of the Detroit lineup right in order.

In a Jamesian move, Detroit closer Fernando Rodney comes on for the eighth, and he continues to hold us hostage. I go to LTOGY Mike Gallo, and he gets three ground balls to keep the 3-1 lead intact for the ninth.

We get a base runner for the first time since the first when Rodney walks Brad Fullmer after getting D.Y. and Maggs to both ground to second, but Joe Borchard bounces into a 5-4 force to keep the semi-no-hitter fully intact.

Nonetheless, it all comes down to what the Tigers can do against Joe Roa in the bottom of the ninth. Ty Wigginton pinch-hits for the pitcher and hits a shot to the right side, but Juan Uribe makes a diving stop...and can't make the throw to first in time. Oh well. But it's a big "Oh well" after Reed Johnson singles to put runners on the corners. Carlos Pena strikes out, and Ivan Rodriguez hits a slow ground ball to third that Joe Crede makes a nice play on -- to no avail, as Inanimate Carbon Rod is called safe. I go out and argue, also to no avail, and now it's a 3-2 game. Jason Alfaro pops out to put us one out away, and all that stands in our way is someone named Wilton Reynolds.

"Roa, from the stretch...the 2-0 pitch, slider swung on and lined to center field! Base hit! Sanchez will round third and score without a throw, and we have a tie ballgame! Wilton Reynolds comes through for Detroit!"

Nook Logan steps up with a chance to send the home crowd home happy, but Roa strikes him out and...well, what would this series be without another extra-inning match?

Jack Cressend's the new pitcher in the tenth, and Juan Uribe greets him by swinging at a pitch over his head...and just getting enough of it to bloop it over the infield. And finally, after eight innings of being no-hit, we have our first hit since the three-run first inning. Finally. Franklyn German comes on, and I pinch-hit for Joe Crede, that rat bastard, with The Relief Ace. And Enrique comes through, lining a single to center to give us runners at first and second. I pinch-hit again, going to Miguel Olivo in lieu of Jason LaRue in hopes of getting a sacrifice down and giving another pinch-hitter and Julio Lugo the chance to win it. Of course, he can't get the bunt down. These young guys just don't know the fundamental parts of the game anymore...

"Two balls and two strikes to Olivo...German checks the runners, peers in at Rodriguez. A nod...Olivo digs in, and here it comes...fastball, ripped past Pena, down the right field line, and that'll roll all the way into the corner! Shelton's still chasing it down as Olivo's heading to second...and he's not going to stop there! The relay in to Alfaro...the throw to third...not in time! Uribe and Wilson score, and backup catcher Miguel Olivo laces a pinch-hit triple to give the Sox a 5-3 lead!"

c.f. chen pinch-hits for Roa and hits a fly ball to left deep enough to score Miggy. Hacktastic Julio and D.Y. go down without a fight, and here's our second try at getting three outs.

The only somewhat-rested guy, Wild Thing, is my choice for the bottom of the tenth. He retires Tony Giarratano on an infield pop-up and it looks as though it'll be smooth sailing, but Mike Lieberthal singles and Ankiel walks first Ty Wigginton and then Chris Shelton. I take a deep breath, but do nothing, and Ankiel fans left-handed Carlos Pena for the second out. The fate of this one rests in the hands of Inanimate Carbon Rod, and the law of averages (namely, his .225 mark) wins out. Ankiel induces a ground ball to short, Julio Lugo flips it effortlessly to Juan Uribe, and we've pulled off what, for us, may well be the unthinkable -- a sweep on the road.



CHW 6 DET 3 (10)

WP: J. Roa (5-1) - 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, but he knows how to win
LP: J. Cressend (2-5)
S: R. Ankiel (1) - you make me heart sing

Game Ball Goes To... Miguel Olivo, whose .246 on-base percentage against right-handers is a lot easier to swallow when he hits pinch-hit triples in the tenth inning. Honorable mention to Detroit pitchers from innings two to nine and everybody in Comerica Park who had to witness a sweep at the hands of the powerhouse that is the Chicago White Sox. Back home we go!

EDIT: Greetings and salutations to The One True Sox Fan as well as the guy who's either not logged in or not signed up for these forums -- don't worry, my opinions are neither relevant, sufficient, accurate, nor representative of the views of the rest of the members of these forums.