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Rookie manager Ozzie Guillen made all the right moves for the Chicago White Sox.
Juan Uribe drew a bases-loaded walk from Lance Carter, capping a three-run rally in the ninth inning that gave Chicago a 6-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Sunday.
Pinch-hitter Kelly Dransfeldt tied it with a two-out RBI single on an 0-2 pitch from Trever Miller. Dransfeldt was Guillen's second option. First, the manager went with Timo Perez to face right-hander Travis Harper, but when Devil Rays skipper Lou Piniella brought in Miller, a left-hander, Guillen turned to Dransfeldt.
``I'm a genius, I guess. Timo hasn't faced too many lefties this year,'' Guillen said.
Dransfeldt was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. He got a hit Saturday, his first major league hit since Sept. 15, 2000.
``It's a tough
loss,'' Piniella said. ``Two-strike pitch with the winning run on second. You
let a guy hit a pitch like that. That's not baseball. It's a young kid that
would've swung at anything even if you bounced it in.''
Aubrey Huff and Toby Hall homered for the Devil Rays, who led 5-2 in the eighth.
Jeremi Gonzalez pitched seven strong innings but was denied his first win of
the season when the bullpen blew it.
Danys Baez gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to Frank Thomas. Ticketmaster. Baez then walked Carlos Lee, but he was picked off first base by Hall, the catcher.
Paul Konerko followed with a single off Baez, moving Thomas to third. Joe Crede drove in Thomas with an RBI groundout against Harper, cutting it to 5-4.
After Dransfeldt's single tied it, Miguel Olivo was intentionally walked and Miller (0-1) walked Willie Harris to load the bases.
``It was a stupid pitch. I didn't hit the spot,'' Miller said. ``Harris is 0-2, I have to get him out. The walk adds insult to injury. There's no one to blame but me. I am the goat.''
Piniella went to the bullpen again, but Carter walked Uribe on a 3-2 pitch.
``We had the right matchups out there. We just didn't get the third out,'' Piniella said.
AP - Apr 25, 6:26 pm EDT
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Jon Adkins (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win, and the White Sox got
their fourth comeback victory of the season.
``The reason we are able to come back and win when we are down is that our bullpen is holding the opposition in check and letting our offense come back,'' Guillen said.
Gonzalez gave up two runs -- one earned -- and five hits, but he hasn't won since Aug. 19 at Baltimore.
White Sox starter Mark Buehrle gave up a pair of leadoff homers. Huff homered in the fourth, giving Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead, and Hall homered on an 0-2 pitch leading off the seventh, making it 3-1.
Buehrle gave up a leadoff single to Rocco Baldelli in the eighth and, two outs later, walked Jose Cruz Jr. Julio Lugo greeted Cliff Politte with a two-run triple off the center-field wall, extending the lead to 5-2.
Buehrle pitched 7 2-3 innings, allowing five runs and 11 hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Uribe hit a solo homer off reliever Chad Gaudin in the eighth.
Gonzalez gave up a solo shot to Konerko in the seventh inning.
Carl Crawford led off the game by stretching a single into a double. Crawford then stole third and scored on Baldelli's single.
Olivo led off the third inning with a walk. Harris followed with a bunt single as Gonzalez fielded the ball and threw wildly to Eduardo Perez at first base. Olivo to moved to third on the error and scored on Uribe's double-playgrounder.
Notes
Buehrle allowed only one stolen base in 2003. ... Crawford went 4-for-5, tying
a career high for hits. ... Cruz is in an 0-for-25 slump. ... The White Sox
are 6-1 in one-run games and have five wins in their last at-bat.... Gonzalez
is winless in his last 10 starts.