Levine: 'Resilient' White Sox Hanging Tough In AL Central
By Bruce Levine-
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Ending a three-game losing streak and gaining a game on AL Central-leading Detroit with a 6-5 home win Monday night, the White Sox have re-established their bend-bit-never-break look. A team that can look bad while winning is a ball club that foes usually don't like to play.
"We just showed up just like another day " said Gordon Beckham, who had three of the team's 11 hits as third-place Chicago pulled within 3 1/2 games of Detroit. " I don't really think we put any more pressure on this game than we did for the last three. If we are anything so far, it is resilient. People have to give us that. We may not have the best record, but we know how to bounce back."
The top four hitters in the White Sox order contributed nine hits, four runs and six RBIs to help defeat Rick Porcello, who had gone 8-1 against Chicago in his last 12 starts.
"South siders, we are grinders," lead-off man Adam Eaton said. "We are going to try and do some little things right and grind games out. Tonight was as close to a boxing match that you can get. The three late runs we got were big and grinding it out -- I wouldn't have a baseball game any other way."
Jose Abreu got back into the swing of things, connecting on his 18th home run and two hits after going 13 at-bats without a hit.
"He is just getting his swing back," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "They have been going inside on him and jamming him. He makes adjustments.When he makes those adjustments and hits it in the barrel, it goes a long way."
Chicago starter Hector Noesi won back-to-back starts for the first time in his career despite giving up three home runs.
"That type of thing is going to happen with a lineup like this," Ventura said in reference to Detroit. "For what (Noesi) has been doing, he is giving us a chance to win. The change-up for him has really been a factor. The more he pitches, the more he is able to command it more often, in hitters' counts and get guys to swing through it."
The Sox are 12-8 in one-run games this season. They are 13-9 in first games of series.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
