Ramirez Helps White Sox Split Vs. Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — With a catcher playing second base to finish a long day of baseball, the Chicago White Sox at least got one win to show for it.
Alexei Ramirez hit a tiebreaking double in the 11th inning to lift Chicago over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Saturday.
Michael Young hit an RBI single with two outs in the 13th inning to give Philadelphia a 2-1 win in the nightcap.
After a 41-minute rain delay following the top of the ninth of Game 1, White Sox righty Nate Jones escaped a no-out, second-and-third jam in the bottom half. Ramon Troncoso (1-2) then left the winning run on third in the 10th.
"The last few innings, guys were hanging by the skin of their teeth," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "It wasn't pretty, but it worked out."
It got tougher in Game 2.
Second baseman Gordon Beckham left the game with a left quad injury after a collision with right fielder Casper Wells, forcing Josh Phegley to play the position.
He didn't get a chance to make a play as Young ended it in 13.
John Mayberry Jr. hit a tying, solo homer in the seventh off Hector Santiago, and All-Star Domonic Brown threw out Jeff Keppinger trying to score from second on Tyler Flowers' single to left to end the top half of the 11th.
Simon Castro (0-1) walked Humberto Quintero leading off the bottom of the 13th and Jimmy Rollins then reached on a fielder's choice. He advanced on Joe Savery's sacrifice and scored on Young's hit to right, sliding headfirst just ahead of Casper Wells' strong throw to the plate.
Santiago had allowed just two hits before Mayberry connected with two outs in the seventh to tie it. Santiago allowed one run and three hits, striking out nine in 7 1-3 innings.
Phillies starter John Lannan threw eight strong innings, allowing one run and four hits.
Savery (2-0) pitched a scoreless 13th to win the nightcap.
The teams were forced to play two after Friday night's interleague game was rained out. Both games Saturday took 3 hours, 53 minutes, excluding the delay in the opener.
Beckham's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning put the White Sox up 1-0 in the nightcap.
In the first game, Alejandro De Aza hit a two-out triple off J.C. Ramirez (0-1) in the 11th and Alexei Ramirez followed with a liner to right-center for his fourth hit. He then scored when shortstop Rollins booted Alex Rios' grounder for an error.
"Ramirez has been swinging the ball well, being aggressive," Ventura said.
Jones balked runners to second and third in the ninth before retiring Carlos Ruiz on a shallow fly, striking out pinch-hitter Laynce Nix and getting Revere on a hard liner to right.
The Phillies had runners on first and third with one out in the 10th, but Troncoso fanned Delmon Young and Kevin Frandsen grounded out.
"We just needed to hit a ball somewhere, make a fielder move," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Just needed to make contact."
Addison Reed pitched the 11th for his 24th save in 28 tries. He allowed an RBI single to pinch-hitter Quintero.
Rookie Jonathan Pettibone allowed three runs and six hits, striking out six in six innings. The Phillies fell to 10-6 in Pettibone's starts.
White Sox starter John Danks gave up three runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.
"I think I'm on the right track now," Danks said. "I'll be disappointed if it doesn't go right."
Darin Ruf drove one out to straightaway center to tie it at 3 in the seventh. Ruf hit 41 homers last season, including 38 at Double-A and three for the Phillies.
NOTES: Plate umpire Brian O'Nora left the game after the top of the 10th inning. There was no immediate word on the cause. ... This is the fourth series between the teams and first since the Phillies swept a three-game set in June 2007. ... Cole Hamels (4-11, 4.17) goes for his third straight win in the series finale Sunday afternoon against Chicago's Jose Quintana (4-2, 3.67).
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
