Morning Box Score: Soriano Lifts Cubs; White Sox Continue To Falter
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 30, 2013 2:40PM
Let's start at 35th and Shields where Jesse Crain saw his scoreless streak end at 31 appearances courtesy of a single by Bro Hall of Famer Nick Swisher. The run broke a 3-3 tie and saddled Crain with the loss. Crain's hard luck wasn't the main story, though. The Sox' hitters continued their futility driving in runs, left 20 men on base and hit 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Starter Dylan Axelrod did what he could to hold off the Tribe but said after the game it's been frustrating. "We've lost a lot of close games. It's been real close to being, who knows, we could be the other way around if the little breaks were going our way."
Yes, Sox fans, it's gone from "The Will to Win" to "we just need some breaks to go our way." Baseball is a superstitious game, but the White Sox keep finding Ways to Lose (WTL).
Kevin Gregg blew his first save of the season, costing Jeff Samardzija a win, but Alfonso Soriano made sure Gregg wasn't the goat with a two-run blast in the 11th inning. Soriano has been paying dividends as a designated hitter in interleague games. He's batting .386 in 25 career games as the designated hitter with nine home runs and 24 RBIs and had an RBI single in the sixth inning. If Soriano can be moved to an American League contender before the trade deadline, he could prove to be valuable. Samardzija was steady over seven innings, fighting control problems to only allow two runs. Carlos Villanueva picked up the win and Blake Parker earned his first save.