(Above: Joe Morgan delivers a withering diss to Rawly Eastwick)
Although the KC Royals obligingly restored a semblance of order to the Twin Cities blooperdome by administering an 8-1 pounding to the Twins, the hapless White Sox immediately squandered the opportunity to regain the division lead, surrendering 11-8 at home to the Indians.
John Danks (11-9) made it four innings with 7 hits and 5Ks but leading 4-3, gave up a two-run single to Shin-Soo Choo, prompting a haggard Ozzie to reach for what Joe Morgan this year dubbed “the best bullpen ever”. Unfortunately, Hang The DJ Carrasco’s immediate walk of Jhonny Peralta to load the bases loomed large over the facile Fox announcer’s June 29th estimation. At the time, the South Side appreciated Joe apparently forgetting he played on the ’75 Big Red Machine, but we couldn’t remain in denial forever. Or even for one more batter – Morgan’s superlative was sent over the wall forever along with a Ryan Garko grand slam of a 1-0 Carrasco doucheball. The Indians went up 9-4 and never looked back.
According to the handy-dandy AL Central Outcome Matrix, the Sox could drop both games this weekend and still not be out of it as long as the Twins follow suit, forcing a Monday makeup with Detroit and a possible one-game playoff with the Twins. My head hurts. It’s Zach Jackson vs Javy “Big Game” Vazquez tonight. Although it’s against the basic principles of animal husbandry, I will stand by this team in its grave misery and live blog my way to its denoument. MacBook Pro keyboards can handle tears and bourbon, right?