White Sox Bats Coming Alive

By: Angie Wiatrowski

The Chicago White Sox have won four out of their last five games and are now hitting .304 with 42 home runs and 150 runs scored in June. They definitely stepped up their game offensively during the second half of the Crosstown Classic this weekend at US Cellular Field, with the big hits of this series starting with Nick Swisher’s third career grand slam in the bottom of the third inning on Friday’s game.

Swisher didn’t want the hype of the Cubs and Sox rivalry to affect his game, but he said, “It’s electric out there, emotions are always running high. We need to focus on one game at a time and bring the bats back.”

Swisher is currently hitting .344 with eight doubles, four home runs, 16 RBI, and 15 runs scored in his last 19 games after struggling to hit much more than .200 the first two months of the season.

The Sox continued their hot hitting on Saturday with home runs from outfielder Jermaine Dye, second baseman Alexei Ramirez, and outfielder Carlos Quentin. Dye kicked of the hitting streak with a 2-run bomb in the first inning on a 1-1 pitch, his 18th home run of the season. In the fifth inning Ramirez followed with a solo homerun on a 1-1 run pitch for his fifth home run of the season. With the score tied at 5 in the bottom of the seventh, Quentin steps up with a solo home run on a 0-2 pitch, breaking the tie and tying him with Dye for the team lead in homers.

Dye thinks that playing on his home turf may have something to do with the improvement.

“It’s just like anything in sports, you have to try and take care of business at home,” he said. “I think guys are more comfortable when they come back after sleeping in their own beds, getting home cooked meals, and when you step in that batter’s box you feel good with your surroundings.”

To Quentin, however, it was a matter of luck. In his last ten games, Quentin is 16-37 and hitting .432.

“For awhile during the game, the shadows were significant, and I’m sure you could see they affected some of the hitters,” he said. “I was having trouble seeing the ball, and it was just a defensive swing at a fastball that I didn’t’ see that well and was fortunate to get the barrel on, and it carried.”

Whether it’s being comfortable at home or just luck, the bats are back. Only time will tell if the Sox continue this streak, especially in their final game of the Crosstown Classic this Sunday.

What more on the White Sox? Check out Angie’s update on the injured Paul Konerko.

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Angie Wiatrowski is a journalism student at Columbia College Chicago and has been an active journalist since freshman year of high school. She attended Minooka Community High school, where she was the Special Features editor for the school newspaper. She was born and raised around baseball and is a diehard Chicago White Sox fan. Also, check out her blog.

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