John Danks and Mark Buehrle battled to a draw, while Avisail Garcia enjoyed a successful return
The head-to-head matchup between John Danks and Mark Buehrle fizzled out in the White Sox' favor.
Matt Lindstrom's appearance in the seventh inning? Not so much.
After the White Sox caught up to the Blue Jays with a three-run sixth, Lindstrom restored the margin with a combination of bad luck and bad pitches. Munenori Kawasaki led off by chopping an infield single over Lindstrom's head, and Jose Reyes chopped a double over Jose Abreu's to put runners on second and third. Then Lindstrom's first-pitch slider to Melky Cabrera broke over the middle of the plate, and Cabrera socked it to right-center for a two-run triple. Jose Bautista cashed him in with a single, and the Blue Jays had the game in the bag.
Just like that, a potentially positive evening in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 29,420 was put on ice.
White Sox fans gave Buehrle a couple of warm standing ovations, but he left after just 5⅓ innings and 72 pitches. He started the sixth with a 3-0 lead, but the dormant Sox offense stirred. Alexei Ramirez led off with a single, and after Gordon Beckham hit into a fielder's choice, Jose Abreu got the hands on and shot a single to left.
After one mound visit, Avisail Garcia came about a foot away from tying the game, as his fly to right bounced high off the fence. The runners had to hold up, thinking Nolan Reimold had a chance to catch it, and Garcia was limited to a run-scoring single. Buehrle exited the game after that, but the White Sox tied the game the long way -- a wild pitch moved both runners up, as did a Dayan Viciedo sac fly, and Paul Konerko scored Garcia on a single to left to tie the game at 3.
The rally got John Danks off the hook, at least. Danks pitched OK, but fastballs continue to give him trouble. Danny Valencia turned on one in the second inning to put runners on second and third with nobody out, and both came around to score for 2-0 Toronto lead. Likewise, Jose Reyes shot a single up the middle on a fastball with two outs and a runner on second to stretch the Jays' lead.
Still, he can claim personal bragging rights over Buehrle for lasting two outs longer.
- Danks: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
- Buehrle: 5⅓ IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
But if any White Sox can feel truly feel encouraged about his effort in defeat, it's Garcia. He returned from the DL with some sock, doubling to right in his first at-bat, lining out to center in his second, and nearly homering in his third trip. For at least one game, you couldn't tell he missed any time at all.
Record: 58-65 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights