Back to Back Duffer Summer Events
| June 25th we had our annual Duffer
Picnic. The following day, 20 Duffers and friends witnessed the
pitching Match up of the century at White Sox Park.
Read
the story |
Everyone had a great time, but the Cub fans had the bigger smiles
after the game.
The Cubs fans in the
sellout crowd of 39,143 can celebrate Mark Prior's return.
Where else can you get this high for $28.00? We Were Higher Than the Foul Pole!
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Prior on the Mark in win
Starter allows one hit through six; Patterson homers
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Corey Patterson watches his solo homer go the distance to give the
Cubs a 1-0 lead. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
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CHICAGO -- Mark Prior's right elbow is just fine, thank you.
Pitching for the first time since May 27, Prior held the Chicago White Sox to
one hit over six scoreless innings Sunday to outduel Jon Garland and lift the
Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory. The crosstown showdown ended in a 3-3 tie.
Bragging rights will have to wait.
"He threw a great game and minimized his pitches," Cubs manager
Dusty Baker said of Prior. "He gave us all he had. He surpassed anything we
could've expected against a very tough White Sox lineup. We're very pleased with
the way he pitched."
Tough? The White Sox boast the best record in baseball, and the Cubs are just
the second team to win a series at U.S. Cellular Field. The Cubs fans in the
sellout crowd of 39,143 can celebrate that.
Corey Patterson smacked his 11th home run to back Prior (5-1), who was making
his first start since he was felled by a line drive off his right elbow. He
tuned up for his return by pitching simulated games rather than making any Minor
League rehab starts.
"Mark says he's ready to be back," Baker said. "One thing
about Mark is Mark knows himself. He's a smart young man. Mark would not go out
there if he didn't think he was ready.
"[The timing of his comeback] has nothing to do with the White Sox,
zero," Baker said of the crosstown rivalry. "He says it's the best
he's felt in a long period of time. He's not going to go out and be a
hero."
"I've been pitching for 15 years," Prior said. "Most athletes
know. They have a gut feeling if they're ready or not ready. After the first sim
game, I didn't feel ready and the second one I did. They told me I was going out
there for six innings or 85 pitches, whichever came first."
Prior apparently knows what he's doing. He retired the first eight batters he
faced before Pablo Ozuna's single with two outs in the third. Ozuna did advance
to second on a balk call against Prior but that was it. Scott Podsednik grounded
out to end the inning.
Cubs catcher Henry Blanco was surprised.
"To be honest with you, yeah," Blanco said. "He's been out a
long time. I think they were more worried that he was healthy. The stuff is
going to be there. They were worried if his elbow was fine, if his elbow was 100
percent. He showed he was 200 percent."
"You didn't expect him to be as All-Star-ish as he was today, coming out
his first start and he was," Cubs second baseman Todd Walker said.
"That was incredible to watch. In those situations, you hate to see him
leave early."
This was the third head-to-head meeting between Prior, who was the Cubs' No.
1 pick in 2001, and Jon Garland, who was the team's first pick in 1997, then
traded to the White Sox in 1998. Prior improved to 2-0 in those showdowns.
Garland now is 1-2.
"I probably had more adrenaline just from the fact I haven't pitched in
a month," Prior said. "You get the nerves a little bit and
anxiety."
Prior threw 71 pitches, 50 for strikes, and struck out three, including Frank
Thomas and Paul Konerko back-to-back to end the fourth.
"Henry called a 3-1 curve to Thomas and Konerko and I think that set it
up how both at-bats ended," Prior said. "They obviously didn't know
what to expect. I didn't know what to expect. I just trust Henry."
Said Blanco: "I don't want them to sit on the fastball. You've got to
respect their hitters. Mix it up a little bit, and it worked out great."
Jerome Williams, who will likely be slotted back into the rotation as the
fifth man, pitched two innings in relief, and Ryan Dempster pitched the ninth
for his 11th straight save.
"What I'm most proud of is that [the White Sox] played their game the
first game, moving guys over, getting guys in on sac flies, getting some
homers," Walker said. "Over the last couple days we turned it around
on them. We were able to execute some hit-and-runs. I think as a whole, we did
the little things good. That's why they win so many games. They do those things
on a daily basis. We were able to do it the last couple days and that's why we
won."
Garland (12-3), who leads the American League in wins, retired the first 10
batters he faced before Neifi Perez singled with one out in the fourth.
Patterson connected with one out in the sixth, hitting an 0-2 pitch from
Garland over the right-field fence. All 11 of his home runs have been solo
shots.
"It starts with baby steps and hopefully you can make giant steps
soon," Baker said of Patterson, who is 3-for-22 in his last five games.
"Hopefully this is the start of good things."
The young Cubs center fielder just shrugs off the bad vibes.
"There are some good fans out there," said Patterson, who has been
booed at Wrigley Field and heard a few catcalls on the South Side. "There
are some who are pulling for me from the first inning to the last, and I
appreciate it, I really do. The negative in this game, you have to block out and
go from there. Keep it simple, get your work in."
Jeromy Burnitz gave the Cubs a much needed insurance run in the seventh. He
reached on a fielding error by first baseman Konerko, stole second, advanced to
third on a wild pitch and scored on Walker's sacrifice fly.
For the game, Garland gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five over
7 1/3 innings. Despite losing the series at home, the White Sox have a 25-23
lead in the series overall. Now, the Cubs can focus on National League play.
They'll get another boost when Kerry Wood returns Wednesday.
"Our guys are capable," Burnitz said. "We know Prior is
capable, we know Wood is capable. We need them to participate. We've been saying
that since the beginning."
Carrie Muskat
is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major
League Baseball or its clubs.
Mark Prior / P
