White Sox 6, Mariners 3
The day after my 32nd (!) birthday me and my Dad caught a Sox victory as the Good Guys took on the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners were (and still are) in first place in the AL West Division, so I was excited about the chance of winning over a number one team. With the 3 game series already split at 1 a piece, I was rooting hard for the Sox to take the series at home and get a win for my Dad.
The last time my Dad attended a White Sox game was on a business trip sometime between 1975-1977. Of course, it was at the Old Comiskey Park. That fact alone make me very, very jealous. As he did back then, we took the train to the stadium. On the way there we sat next to an elder gentleman who was wearing a Sox cap full of pins and buttons showcasing older Sox players (Fox, Appling, etc.), vintage Sox logos, and an Opening Day Comiskey Park commemorative. After complimenting him on his great cap, I asked for a photo.
When we got to the park, we quickly made our way to our seats in Section 130. It was a cool afternoon, and the attendance was a bit sparse but we had a grand time. And our seats were great, as you can see from the first photo. The Wizard of Oz musical was starting its run at the Chicago Theatre that night so to promote it, Dorthy (minus Toto) came out to sing our National Anthem.
The starting pitcher for the Sox was Gavin Floyd. The Mariners weren’t having any problem getting hard hits off Floyd, yet they were finding it difficult to actually generate any runs. Part of this was due to some pretty impressive defensive plays, including an amazing diving catch in the outfield form Jermaine Dye.
At the start of the 5th inning, the Sox were leading 1 -0 due to AJ Pierzynski’s 100th career home run in the 2nd inning.
However, that all changed when the Mariners finally had a break through inning in the 5th, racking up 3 runs aided by a double from Ken Griffey Jr.
Yes, Griffey (who played for the Sox at the end of last season) is now a Mariners, the team he started with in the majors twenty years ago!
At the bottom of the 5th, Dye came inches away from hitting a grand slam to give the Sox the lead. I was more than a little worried that that was going to be our last chance to take the lead.
I was wrong. In the 6th, the Sox scored two runs from a Wilson Betemit double, and two more in the 7th from back to back home runs by Carlos Quentin and Dye. In the 8th, they got an extra insurance run.
They wouldn’t need it. The Mariners never scored after the 5th inning, and closer Big Bobby Jenks got another save for the record books.
It was nice to see the Sox who started the game with a lackluster performance (which the fans let them know of their displeasure) step up offensively and end the game strongly.
Throughout the game, long-time Sox organist Nancy Faust entertained the crowd with some choice numbers, including Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach”. Below is a video of sportscaster and one time Sox pitcher Steve Stone throwing T-shirts to the crowd as Nancy plays “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch:
However, the greatest thrill was getting to watch a game with my Dad. I think the last baseball game we attended together was a Braves game in the early 90’s. Thankfully, we had a great game to watch!
– Did I mention that my 87 year old Grandma also came to visit, and her and my sister went to a taping of the Oprah show? More on that later…