Morning Box Score: Garza Impresses For Cubs; Sox Spoil Santiago's Start
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 4, 2013 3:00PM
The Cubs' flurry of trade activity Tuesday had everyone speculating if Wednesday night's start by Matt Garza would be his last in Cubbie blue. If it was, he left a lasting impression. Garza handcuffed the Athletics for eight innings, allowing only a single run on four hits and received offensive support via an Alfonso Soriano single and a Luis Valbuena home run to seal a win for the North siders. Manager Dale Sveum said after the game Garza pitched as well as he's ever seen in his two years at the helm of the Cubs, but Garza was nonplussed about the trade talk. "Until my phone rings, I'm going to be a Cub and I'm going to stay a Cub," he said. We'll see."
The creeping realization the White Sox will not be trading for players to strengthen a possible playoff push continued Tuesday night as they lost their most reliable pitcher of the past month to injury. Jesse Crain, who leads AL relievers with a 0.74 ERA and had a 31-game scoreless streak snapped earlier in the week, went on the DL with soreness in his right shoulder. Crain had been used as the eighth inning setup man for Addison Reed recently and his absence was felt immediately as Matt Lindstrom and Matt Thornton allowed three hits in the eighth, including a go-ahead two-run double to slugger Chris Davis. The bullpen's struggles offset a solid start by Hector Santiago, who
struck out nine and allowed two runs over seven innings. Gordon Beckham homered for the Sox.