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White Sox 5, Rays 3

White Sox stay loose, stay alive

Not going anywhere after rising to occasion in elimination game

By Mark Gonzales | Tribune staff reporter
11:09 PM CDT, October 5, 2008

Juan Uribe knocked on a couple of clubhouse door entrances Sunday and ran.

That was just a sampling of how comfortable the White Sox play in their own environment despite facing long odds and sitting through a 35-minute rain delay.

"Maybe that's just the way we're going to do it the rest of the playoffs," closer Bobby Jenks said after the Sox averted elimination for at least one more day by beating Tampa Bay 5-3 in Game 3 of this best-of-five American League Division Series. "We're going to try."

Behind the revival of timely hitting that was non-existent in two losses at indoor Tropicana Field and aggressive baserunning, the Sox gave crafty left-hander John Danks enough support to force a fourth game.

This marked the fourth time the Sox have converted a must-win situation.

"We've won when we've had to," said Matt Thornton, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. "We have a good group of veterans where the situation doesn't overwhelm them."

A.J. Pierzynski extended his postseason hitting streak to seven games with a two-out RBI single that tied the game 1-1 in the third.

And 38-year-olds Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr. teamed with Dewayne Wise to highlight a three-run fourth off Rays starter Matt Garza.

Thome ripped a leadoff double off the wall in right-center. After Paul Konerko drew a walk, Griffey singled to load the bases and then wisely tagged up and advanced to second on Alexei Ramirez's sacrifice fly.

"I was just trying to stay out of a double play," Griffey said. "And if you get doubled up, you still have a guy on third."

Wise continued his remarkable postseason when he poked an opposite-field double to left to extend the Sox lead to 4-1. Wise has five RBIs and two of the Sox's six extra-base hits in the ALDS.

"This is the postseason, so little things like that win ball games," Wise said. "We're not ready to go home yet."

Wise's hit was one of four that the Sox produced with runners in scoring position, equaling their total in the two losses. He also cemented his stature on the club even though he wasn't even invited to a major-league camp last spring.

"He's great in the clubhouse," hitting coach Greg Walker said. "He has fit in. Every year we have surprises, and he has been a big surprise. We wouldn't be here without him."

In addition to the clutch hitting, the Sox stole three bases—two that led to runs. Wise's steal in the third preceded Pierzynski's two-out hit, and Brian Anderson pinch-ran for Griffey in the sixth and stole second to set up Uribe's RBI single that extended the Sox's lead to 5-1 and loomed large after B.J. Upton hit a two-run home run off Danks in the seventh.

"I wanted to make contact," said Uribe, who struck out against Garza in the fourth. "You never know what's going on. I don't have a lot of pressure. This is the playoffs, but you have the same play, the same hustle and work."

mgonzales@tribune.com

Related topic galleries: Tampa Bay Rays, American League, Baseball, Major League Baseball, John Danks, Chicago White Sox, U.S. Cellular Field

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