NewsWhite Sox ride six-run second to victory
Early outburst gives Contreras all the cushion he requires
By Cash Kruth / MLB.com
06/13/09 8:29 PM ET
MILWAUKEE -- During a month-long stretch in Triple-A, Jose Contreras knew he was going to get back to the big leagues.He just didn't know he was going to do so in dominant fashion.
Contreras delivered his second straight stellar outing, giving up just two hits over eight shutout innings, as the White Sox beat the Brewers, 7-1, on Saturday afternoon at Miller Park.
"Physically, I've always been in top shape," said Contreras, through interpreter Ozzie Guillen Jr. "When I went down, I knew I was going to come back up, but I never knew I would come back this strong. ... I thought I was going to come back, but I didn't think I would come back as strong as I have, so quickly."
 |
Contreras was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on May 10 at his own request, opting to work on his game in the Minor Leagues rather than see potentially limited work in the Chicago bullpen.
After five starts for Charlotte, Contreras was recalled on June 8, and the 37-year-old held Detroit to one hit in eight innings on April 6.
Saturday's outing also was impressive, as Contreras allowed only one hit -- an infield single to Corey Hart in the third inning -- before the eighth inning. In the eighth, Contreras gave up a single to Jason Kendall and issued his only two walks of the game, before getting Craig Counsell to pop up, allowing Contreras to escape a bases-loaded jam unscathed.
"I don't know the way he was pitching before, but I've seen the numbers," said White Sox catcher Ramon Castro, who made his club debut on June 3 and hit his first Chicago home run in the fifth inning on Saturday. "He's throwing hard now -- 93, 94 [mph] -- and when he's throwing strikes, he's hard to hit."
Contreras got plenty of run support in the early going, as Paul Konerko started and ended a six-run second inning in his return to the lineup.
White Sox manager Guillen said before the game that he was happy to get Konerko, who missed the last two games with a stretched ligament in his right thumb, back into a lineup that lacked pop in his absence.
Konerko made his presence known right away, as he and Castro opened the second with back-to-back singles, with Konerko scoring on a ground-rule double by Jayson Nix. Brewers starter Manny Parra then walked Brian Anderson, and White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham drove in the first runs of his career with a two-run blooper to shallow center field.
Parra then issued two straight walks, setting up a two-run single to left field by Konerko to put Chicago up, 6-0. Parra (3-8, 7.52 ERA) was relieved after Konerko's hit, taking the loss in 1 2/3 innings.
During the game, Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin told Parra, a 26-year-old left-hander, that he had been optioned to the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate in Nashville.
While Saturday's outing was a tough one for Parra, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper and Guillen talked after the game about moving Contreras up a spot in the rotation. Because of Monday's off-day, they are leaning toward skipping Clayton Richard in the rotation and starting Contreras in Thursday's series finale against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Although it wasn't set in stone, Guillen seemed to think it's a possibility for Contreras, who looks poised to regain his form of 2005, when he went 15-7 in the White Sox championship season.
"I know what Jose went through during the last eight months, and going to the Minor Leagues was a great thought by him," Guillen said. "Before he left, he told [White Sox general manager Kenny Williams] and myself, 'I need to pitch, I need to go out on the mound, I need to get stronger. When I come back, I'll come back fine.'
"He's stepping up to his word, and he's just throwing the ball good."
Cash Kruth is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
