White Sox Pitching Back On Track, For a Night Anyway

On the heels of a dramatic marathon win over the Tigers on Tuesday night, the White Sox needed a solid start out of second-year pitcher John Danks. 

Last night at the Cell the White Sox' most consistent starter came up huge, throwing 6.2 strong innings against a fearsome Tiger lineup.  He threw his fastballs for strikes and had his changeup working as well as he has all season. 

The lone blemish on his night was a two-out Gary Sheffield double when for some unknown reason Toby Hall called for a 1-2 fastball against one of the best fastball hitters in the history of the game.

Even more encouraging than Danks’ strong start was the solid work of the bullpen for the second straight night.  D.J. Carrasco is quickly establishing himself as a viable seventh inning option, pushing Octavio Dotel into the eighth inning spot if Scott Linebrink can’t get healthy. 

With Carrasco, Dotel, Matt Thornton, and the reemergence of Bobby Jenks, the White Sox bullpen, even without Linebrink, can still be a force in the AL Central race.

Tonight it's Javy Vazquez’s turn to prove that his last start was not an aberration but the start of a late season run of success. The real way to keep the bullpen back on track is for the starters to get back in the habit of consistently going deep into ballgames. 

All is right on the south side, for a night anyway.         

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