Blown call helps Blue Jays top White Sox

By Mark Gonzales | Tribune staff reporter

10:03 PM CDT, May 4, 2008

TORONTO - Just when the White Sox thought they had endured every way to lose, they were dwelling on another strange occurrence Sunday after their fifth consecutive loss.

An apparent missed call by second-base umpire Dale Scott changed a potential double play into a three-run rally that added more bewilderment to a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays.

The call wasn't entirely to blame for the setback. The Sox failed to get a clutch hit after immediately rallying from a four-run deficit against 2003 American League Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay.

After winning seven of their first 11 road games, the Sox will try to avoid getting swept on this six-game journey Monday night.

"This is a long season, and you're going to go through tough times," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "The thing is how we're going to handle it. And I didn't like the way we handled it the last couple days.

"I see a lot of guys with long faces and worries. We're not going to win 162 games, and [Sunday] I saw a lot more enthusiasm.

"Everyone goes through this in baseball, and we've got to find a way to come out [of it] as quick as we can."

Their run of bad luck continued in the third inning after the Blue Jays put runners on second and third with no outs and had already taken a 1-0 lead.

Shortstop Orlando Cabrera charged a grounder and was bumped by baserunner Alex Rios, who was trying to retreat to second. Cabrera threw to first to complete what he thought was a double play, but Scott ruled that Rios hadn't been tagged.

Television replays showed that Cabrera tagged Rios on the knee.

Then with two out, Matt Stairs ripped a two-run double, and Vernon Wells followed with an RBI single for what turned out to be the winning run.

"From the dugout, I think [Cabrera] tagged the guy," Guillen said calmly. "He got the close look at the play, and [Scott] says he never touched him with the glove. But he's wrong.

"Stuff happens like that when you struggle. A lot of crazy stuff happens. The plays don't go your way, and some things you can't control over the game. You've got so many things to argue about on the play, but umpires are human. They're going to make mistakes, and that mistake cost us a couple runs."

Losing pitcher Jose Contreras accepted responsibility for leaving a pitch over the middle of the plate that Stairs whacked.

"We've been in every game," Contreras said. "We've got to keep on pushing, and things will turn around."

The Sox scored all three of their runs and produced three of their four hits in the fourth inning.