Thursday evening’s White Sox game in Toronto was the definition of a pitcher’s duel. White Sox starter Philip Humber dueled Brandon Morrow to a standstill, and the Sox bats came alive just in time in the ninth inning to seal a victory for the South Siders.
Humber reeled off another quality start, pitching 7.2 innings of one run baseball, on six hits and a walk, while striking out three. His lone mistake came in the bottom of the sixth inning. At that point, the Sox were up 1-0 after Juan Pierre singled in A.J. Pierzynski. That would be the only run that Brandon Morrow would allow in his seven innings of work, on four hits and two walks, with five strikeouts.
The Jays would come back in the sixth inning as Yunel Escobar led off. Humber got the count to 1-1, but threw a curveball that Escobar launched into the seats for a solo home run. That would be the only scoring for either team until the top of the ninth inning.
Alex Rios led off the inning and reached all the way to second on a throwing error by third baseman John McDonald. After a wild pitch by reliever Mark Rzepczynski, two strikeouts, and Gordon Beckham being hit by a pitch, the Sox found themselves with runners on first and third and two outs. While Pierre was up to bat, Gordon Beckham stole second base. Pierre then hit a single which scored Rios, and then Beckham as well after another Toronto error. Sergio Santos closed out the game for the Sox and recorded his eighth save on the season.
The Sox will take on Toronto in game two of the series on Friday evening. First pitch will be at 6:07 P.M., CDT.