The BoSox wasted no time getting to Chicago starter Jason Bere in the top of the first inning. Otis Nixon walked and immediately stole second. Billy Hatcher hit a routine grounder to short and Ozzie Guillen airmailed Frank Thomas at first to score Nixon on the error, Hatcher taking third. Mike Greenwell grounded out to second to score Hatcher and Mo Vaughn singled to center. Andre Dawson forced Vaughn at second and Tim Naehring flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Sele got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tim Raines singled to center to start. Joey Cora popped up to short and Frank Thomas forced Raines at second. Julio Franco grounded out to short to end the inning.
Scott Cooper grounded out to second to start the top of the second and John Valentin doubled to center. Dave Valle lined out to third and Nixon grounded out to second to end the inning. Robin Ventura struck out swinging to open the bottom of the second before Darrin Jackson singled to center. Lance Johnson popped up to third but Ron Karkovice singled to left. Guillen grounded out to second to end the inning.
Hatcher flied out to left to start the top of the third before Greenwell walked. Vaughn banged into a double play to end the inning. Raines took strike three to start the bottom of the third but Cora walked. Thomas walked but Franco struck out swinging. Ventura took strike three to end the inning.
Dawson lined out to short to open the top of the fourth but Naehring drew a walk. Naehring was thrown out at second trying to steal and Cooper took strike three to end the inning. Sele got Jackson to ground out to short to start the bottom of the fourth and Johnson popped up to left in foul territory. Karkovice walked but Guillen lined out to left to end the inning/
The BoSox struck again in the top of the fifth as Vallentin and Valle dropped back to back base hits to start. Nixon dropped down a bunt to move the runners over and Hatcher scored Valentin with a sac fly. Greenwell blooped a single to right to score Valle and increase the lead, but Vaughn watched strike three go by to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
The White Sox struck back in the bottom of the fifth as Raines hit a home run all the way to Wrigley Field to start. Cora singled to left but Thomas struck out swinging. Franco hit into a double play to end the inning with the White Sox down 4-1. Sox manager Butch Hobson felt at 97 pitches, Sele had done enough and Aaron did well, allowing just 1 run in 5 innings.
Jose DeLeon came in to pitch the top of the sixth inning and Dawson popped up to first to start. Naehring struck out swinging and Cooper took strike three to end the inning. Hobson brought in Paul Quantrill to pitch the bottom of the sixth and he immediately served up a home run to Mercury by Ventura to cut the lead. Jackson flied out to center, Johnson popped up to short and Karkovice flied out to center to end the inning but the White Sox were down 4-2.
Valentin flied out to left to start the top of the seventh before Valle grounded out to third. Nixon took strike three to end the inning. The wheels fell off in the bottom of the seventh although Guillen grounded out to short to start. Raines then smashed his second home run of the game to chase Quantrill. Ricky Trilicek came in and Cora singled to right. Thomas walked but Franco hit a home run all the way to Montreal, Canada to give the White Sox the lead. Ventura singled to left and Jackson flied out to center to chase Trilicek. Tony Fossas got Johnson to hit a routine grounder to Cooper....booted for an error. Karkovice grounded into a force to end the inning as the White Sox went from down 4-2 to up 6-4.
The BoSox rallied in the top of the eighth as Hatcher singled to right to chase DeLeon to start. Paul Assenmacher came in and Greenwell singled to center. Vaughn singled to right to load the bases and chase Assenmacher. Kirk McCaskill came in and got Dawson to pop up to second. Naehring then hit a bullet into the gap to right. Hatcher and Greenwell scored easily and the ball got away from Karkovice. Vaughn scored and Naehring scored on the error for a little league home run to put the BoSox back on top. Cooper flied out to center and Valentin took strike three to end the inning with Boston ahead 8-6.
Guillen singled to right to start the bottom of the eighth but Raines popped up to short. Cora flied out to center and that was it for Fossas. Scott Bankhead came in to pitch to Thomas and Frank grounded into a force to end the inning.
Valle took strike three to start the top of the ninth but Cora threw a grounder by Nixon away for an error. Nixon was thrown out trying to steal and Hatcher struck out swinging to end the inning. Jeff Russell came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Franco grounded out to second to start. Ventura flied out to center and Jackson popped up to second to end the game. The BoSox had won it 8-6.
The Good:
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Mo Vaughn was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
John Valentin was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Aaron Sele tossed 5 innings of 1 run ball.
Tony Fossas tossed a full scoreless innings to get the win.
Scott Bankhead retired the only man he faced.
Jeff Russell earned his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Andre Dawson was 0 for 4.
Scott Cooper was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Paul Quantrill was charged with 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Ricky Trilicek allowed the 3 run homer to Franco.
The Ugly:
Otis Nixon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked, stole a base and scored a run.
Billy Hatcher was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored two runs.
Dave Valle was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was another good come from behind win but there are warts starting to develop. The offense has been fine but the pitching hasn't been there so far. Aaron Sele looked good but could go only 5 innings which led to the White Sox making their comeback. Jeff Russell is as good as any closer in the league but getting to him is going to be tricky this season. The Sox starters should be able to get on track as the season progresses so any time the BoSox can steal a win, it'll be beneficial down the road. Winning four straight games to start the season is fun and its almost the opposite of last year. Last April the Sox got some outstanding starting pitching but not much offense, this year its the other way around. Still a win is a win whether its 3-0 or 9-8 and this was four in a row. Boston looks to make it five in a row and two straight over Chicago tomorrow when Roger Clemens looks to rebound from his Opening Day dud against Jack McDowell of the ChiSox. The game begins at 3:30 PM at Commiskey Park.
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