Morning Box Score: Sox Bullpen Woes Continue, Bulls Outlast Suns, Hawks Lose

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 6, 2011 4:20PM

The Kansas City Royals are to the White Sox as the Pittsburgh Pirates are to the Cubs. That held true last night in the Sox' 7-6 loss. Starter Gavin Floyd gave up four runs through seven innings and had a two-run lead when he turned the game over to the bullpen, who promptly blew the game. Chris Sale gave up a two-run home run to Billy Butler, sending the game into extra innings. Melky Cabrera's RBI single off Tony Pena in the 12th inning sealed the Royals' fourth come-from behind victory of the season. The White Sox bats kept pounding out runs. Paul Konerko jacked a three-run shot and Alexei Ramirez hit an RBI triple. White Sox slugger Adam Dunn had an emergency appendectomy and will miss at least five games.

At the United Center, Derrick Rose faced off against Steve Nash in a matchup of two of the best point guards in the NBA during the Bulls' 97-94 win over Phoenix. Rose paced six Bulls in double figures with 19 points and four assists while Nash scored 16 points and six assists, including a bounce pass that went between the legs of Carlos Boozer for a dunk. The Bulls led by as many as 22 points, but the Suns rallied late thanks in large part to Vince Carter's 23 points off the bench. The win maintains the Bulls' three-game lead in the Eastern Conference standings over Miami and Boston. The Celtics visit the Bulls tomorrow night.

The Blackhawks visited Montreal hoping to find some breathing room in the Western Conference standings. Last night's 2-1 overtime loss to the Canadiens did earn the Hawks a point, but they look more like a team backing into the playoffs than a team raring to defend their Stanley Cup title. The winning goal was set up by a tripping penalty on Jonathan Toews, which gave the Habs a 4-on-3 advantage. P.K. Subban scored the overtime winner.