Gillaspe, Konerko carry White Sox to a 5-2 record on 7 game road trip
By Ryan Johnson [July 28, 2014 at 4:35pm CDT]
Teams have a right to be 'konkerned' about Paul Konerko. The 37 year old beast posted fantastic numbers throughout a 7 game road trip. Konerko batted .348 throughout the 7 games, and went along with 2 home runs, 5 RBIs and a double. Konerko's spurge of excellence allowed him to push his average to .316 with 6 long balls and 13 RBIs. "As a vet I'm just trying to lead this team as well as I can... I was feeling it on that road trip and it rubbed off on my bat and the team..." The words from slugger Konerko are likely true, as the team managed to sweep last years ALCS loser, the Detroit Tigers.
Konerko wasn't the only man on the team hitting well. Conor Gillaspe continued his stellar year, batting .391 throughout the 7 games. Gillaspe also had two doubles, a home run and 3 runs and 4 RBIs. Gillaspe is batting .333 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs, and has obviously been one of the White Sox best players. "I just want to win." Gillaspe has proven that to the Sox. "We had a rough year last year and some of my good friends were traded... but I know we can be good and I'm going to try my best to make us good."
The Sox had a big outings pitching wise as well. Felipe Paulino, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana gave up two runs in 24.1 innings in the first three games against the Tigers. John Danks and the White Sox stellar lineup got them the sweep, as they won 6-4 the next game. The White Sox are 15-8 and 1.5 games back behind the Royals. The division seems to be a two team race, even though it was thought to be one of the most competitive before the season started. The Indians and Tigers, both with high expectations aren't living up to them. The teams records are 9-14 and 2-19 respectively.
The White Sox host the leaves best ERA, and are 3rd in stolen bases. The Sox are top 10 in BA, and top 3 in ER. The White sox lead the wild card race as well by 1 game. The White Sox come back to a 6 game home stand with their next series against the 13-10 TB Rays. In game 1, Hanson faces off against struggling Hellickson, in game two Felipe Paulino goes against Jake Odorizzi, then in the final game it will be a pitching duel, as left handed aces David Price and Chris Sale face off.