Is the Chicago White Sox Offense Heading North?

If you look at the box score for Wednesday night's game in Toronto, the White Sox starting nine, plus a few pinch hitters, are batting .227 as a team.

While I know that seems low, to me it shows promise.

In Saturday's loss to the Minnesota Twins the team was only batting .186, a good 40 points lower.

When the White Sox entered the Rogers Centre on Monday, Chicago had not won a game in Toronto since 2007. Monday would finally be the game to reverse that. In Monday's extra-inning win, the White Sox would score eight runs, which was the most they had scored all season. On Wednesday night, they scored 11.

It was no secret that if Chicago scored runs they were going to win ball games. With eight of the starting fielders that hit, only Juan Pierre is batting lower than .200.

A staple of the White Sox bats picking up is the hits total. In Monday's win the White Sox had 14 hits, and they followed that performance with 15 hits for the win on Wednesday.

The offense was great, but it doesn't deserve all the credit for the wins.

After Jake Peavy was pulled from a rocky start on Tuesday, the White Sox bullpen hurled five innings of shutout ball. Reliever Scott Linebrink threw two scoreless innings. On Wednesday Tony Pena simulated Linebrink with two scoreless innings in relief of his own.

But it goes farther than Monday. In the last five games, the White Sox bullpen hasn't allowed a run. In those five games Chicago is 3-2.

In the words of Bill Veeck: Power and pitching win pennants. Certainly, if all three of these factors can continue strong, the White Sox should easily be in first place in the American League Central before long. The first step towards first is a win tonight in Toronto.

If the White Sox can win the series tonight in Toronto, they'll hit .500 for the second time this season.