The Chicago White Sox have surged to the top of the AL Central largely by crushing the ball, but on Friday night they defeated the Tampa Blue Jays thanks to good old fashioned shutdown pitching. White Sox starter Jake Peavy went 7.1 innings, allowing only five hits and a single earned run while striking out seven. From there, Matt Thornton and Addison Reed combined to lock the game down, with the latter earning his 13th save of the season.
Chicago did their damage hitting-wise in the fifth inning, where they scored three runs off Toronto starter Aaron Laffey on singles by Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham and Kevin Youkilis. Toronto had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an Adam Lind homer, and added their second and final run on a Yunel Escobar sacrifice fly in the ninth.
The two teams will be back on the field on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. CT.
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