Flashback 2005: White Sox win slugfest over D-Rays, 10-8

Jermaine Dye homers and drives in six in the victory

Today's flashback transports us to a rainy Independence Day. On July 4, 2005, the White Sox's bats got hot early, and they held on for a high-scoring victory.

The pitching matchup pitted rookie Brandon McCarthy up against Japanese sensation Hideo Nomo, and neither one performed well. In the bottom of the first, the White Sox jumped all over Nomo, putting up a big, crooked number on the board. Scott Podsednik led off with a single, and Tadahito Iguchi followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. After Frank Thomas drew a walk, the bases were loaded. Still with no outs, Paul Konerko drove in the first run of the game with a single. Two batters later, Jermaine Dye stepped up to the plate and launched a grand slam.

That home run was Dye's 18th of the season, and it was a big one. As a result, the White Sox had blown the game open, taking an early 5-0 lead. The Rays got one run back in the top of the second on a home run by Nick Green, but 5-1 still appeared to be a fairly comfortable lead. A Juan Uribe solo home run (his sixth of the year) in the bottom of the second increased the lead back up to five. However, the third inning was one to forget for McCarthy.

McCarthy retired the leadoff hitter, Carl Crawford, on a fly ball to left. But, the next two D'Rays reached base, and with one out, Aubrey Huff (2020 Joe says "Boo" to Huff) hit a three-run homer to make the score 6-4.

In the fourth, the D-Rays continued to rally, as they led off the inning with three consecutive singles. The last of those single drove in a run, and it prompted Ozzie Guillén to pull McCarthy from the game. Reliever Luis Vizcaíno stranded the baserunners that McCarthy left, but some damage was done.

It appeared highly unlikely that six runs would be enough to win this game, so the hitters had to go back to work. Thomas, Konerko, and Aaron Rowand all reached base to open the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Dye came up in a big spot, and he delivered again. No, Dye did not hit another grand slam, but he kept the rally going with a two-run single. After a sacrifice fly by Uribe and an RBI single by Podsednik, the White Sox led by five again, 10-5.

Tampa Bay answered with two runs in only two-thirds of an inning of work by reliever Kevin Walker. Fortunately, the D-Rays could not solve Shingo Takatsu and Dustin Hermanson so easily. Takatsu and Hermanson combined for 3 ⅓ innings, allowing only one run on two hits. Hermanson picked up the save, his 20th of the season.

As a result, the White Sox improved to 55-26, while the D-Rays fell to 27-56. For the White Sox, the game marked the midpoint in the season, and mercy, are they playing well or what? They have the best record in the majors and are on pace to finish 110-52. Tomorrow, the White Sox will face the D-Rays again, and the probable starters are Freddy García and Mark Hendrickson.

Now, trivia related to today's game:
1. Dewon Brazelton, who threw three innings of relief for Tampa Bay, was drafted in which round of the 2001 draft?
2. According to Baseball-Reference, how many Japanese pitchers have more career wins above replacement in the majors than Hideo Nomo?

Answers
1. First round (third overall ... Brazelton got the job done today, but he never developed into the kind of pitcher Tampa Bay wanted)
2. One (only Yu Darvish, who passed Nomo in 2019)