Appling, Ordoñez lift White Sox in Bracket
CHICAGO -- The White Sox Dream Team advanced to the quarterfinals of the MLB Dream Bracket with a 4-1 series victory over the A’s. Chicago will face the Red Sox in the Round of 8.
It was Paul Konerko’s offense sparking the White Sox past the Royals in the Round of 32, but third baseman Robin Ventura led the way in the Round of 16. Ventura knocked out four home runs, drove in eight and scored six while hitting .333 over the five games.
Luke Appling hit .450, while Magglio Ordoñez batted .391 with one homer, two doubles and three RBIs. Four different White Sox pitchers picked up victories, with Billy Pierce striking out 10 over 11 2/3 innings and two starts.
The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current Major League franchises, as well as teams consisting of Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars. The 26-man rosters for each of the teams, compiled by the MLB.com beat reporters, consist of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers.
For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game. Here is a look at the game-by-game results.
Game 1: A’s 9, White Sox 3
Catfish Hunter, one of iconic White Sox broadcaster Ken ‘Hawk’ Harrelson’s favorite pitchers, held the South Siders to one Ventura solo home run over 6 2/3 innings as the A’s opened with a victory. Pierce and Hoyt Wilhelm combined for two victories, two saves and combined to allow three runs over 16 2/3 innings in the series win over the Royals, but they gave up all nine runs over five innings in this contest. Only two of the five runs allowed by Pierce were earned, while Wilhelm was touched up for four in the ninth courtesy of Mickey Cochrane’s grand slam, his second homer of the contest. Appling had three hits and Konerko finished with two in defeat.
Game 2: White Sox 6, A’s 5 (12 innings)
Eddie Collins’ two-out single off of Tim Hudson scored Jermaine Dye with the game-winning run and gave the White Sox a walk-off split of the first two games at home. The White Sox trailed, 4-3, after six with Wilbur Wood allowing four runs on six hits over five innings, but they scored single runs in the seventh and eighth to grab a 5-4 lead.
Wilhelm’s struggles continued as he blew the save on Reggie Jackson’s one-out homer in the ninth. In a strange twist, Collins, who was also a star with the Philadelphia A’s, hit a two-run homer off of Wood with two outs in the fourth. Ventura homered and drove in three, while Dye and Ordoñez had three hits apiece.
Game 3: White Sox 7, A’s 1
A five-run eighth inning put up against relievers Huston Street and Sean Doolittle turned a pitchers battle between Chris Sale and Dave Stewart into an easy White Sox victory. Sale struck out five over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, while Ed Walsh fanned three in 2 1/3 innings for the save. Sale and Walsh have seven of the eight single-season franchise highs in strikeouts.
Carlton Fisk, Ordoñez and Minnie Minoso homered, with Ordoñez and Minoso going deep in the eighth. Fisk and Minoso drove in three apiece, and Ventura, Konerko and Ordoñez had two hits each.
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Game 4: White Sox 5, A’s 2
Ventura’s two-run two-out home run off of Lefty Grove sparked a five-run first inning and gave the White Sox all the offense they would need in moving one game away from eliminating the A’s. Mark Buehrle allowed two runs over 4 1/3 innings, but the White Sox needed seven pitchers to lock down this victory. Red Faber earned the win despite walking five, and Ted Lyons earned the save. Frank Thomas, Appling and Ventura finished with two hits apiece to spark an 11-hit attack.
Game 5: White Sox 4, A’s 1
Pierce closed out the A’s, just as he did to the Royals in the previous series, by yielding one run on five hits over seven innings while striking out five. Bobby Thigpen and Lyons worked one scoreless inning apiece, with Lyons getting a second straight save. Ventura completed his highly productive series with home run No. 4, while Fisk also went deep, with both coming off of Hunter.