Make it 9!
Make it nine in a row for the Sox as they swept the Braves out of US Cellular Park Thursday afternoon. The Sox are now 13-2 in interleague play and have moved to 2.5 games behind the Twins for first place in the AL central.
Gavin Floyd took a no-decision today but deserved better. He threw seven innings of two-hit ball and struck out nine in continuing his run of impressive starts (0-1, 0.93 ERA in his last 29.0 IP). His record stands at 2-7 but he's knocked his ERA (4.80) down almost three points in the last month.
"You can't control that kind of stuff," Floyd said of not having a win since 5/22. "Staying positive, you know, just thankful that I've got back on my feet. ... Those things you can't really pay attention to. You hope for it, but hopefully sooner rather than later [a win] will come around."
No doubt the starters pitching to form has been the catalyst for the White Sox run. They have, however, faced a number of good performances from opposing starters (Steven Strassburg on 6/18, J.D. Martin on 6/19, Tim Hudson on 6/23 and Derek Lowe Thursday). "The only way you beat really good starting pitching," Mark Kotsay said after Thursday's 2-0 win, "is with really good starting pitching. So, like I said, you have to tip your cap to our starters. They're throwing the ball great. They're keeping us in ballgames and giving us a chance to score just enough to win."
"Just enough" is right. During the nine game streak the Sox have only outscored their opponent by an average of 2.08 runs per game. However the Sox mark off the victories, the team has managed to do what it thought it could over the past three weeks. They'll have three more games against the NL--the crosstown rivalry with the Cubs resumes Friday--before facing the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
