NewsThome's grand night paces White Sox
Slugger homers twice, drives in career-high seven runs
By Jesse Temple / MLB.com
07/18/09 1:22 AM ET
CHICAGO -- At 38 years old, Jim Thome is well aware that he doesn't possess the stamina and spring in his step that he once did as a young professional ballplayer.Father Time is cruel and cold-hearted, and at some point sooner rather than later, Thome recognizes that will catch up to him, ending his playing career.
That's what makes those awe-inspiring, seemingly superhuman performances that transfer from Thome's arms into his bat even more special these days. There may not be that many left.
On Friday night, Thome gave the 32,013 fans in attendance a thrill, providing another trademark offensive showing as the White Sox defeated the Orioles, 12-8, in the teams' first game after the All-Star break at U.S. Cellular Field. Thome cranked two home runs -- including a grand slam -- and set a career high with seven RBIs.
Even 2,233 games into an illustrious 19-year Major League career in which he has hit 557 home runs, Thome continues to prove that he has some gas left in the tank. Only now, those moments mean a little more.
"Especially as you do get older," Thome said. "Let's face it, your body reacts different daily. And getting four days off was big. I'll admit it, I felt like a young kid again. You definitely savor every moment. You just don't know how many more you're going to have of them."
Thome said he used the All-Star break to allow his body to heal after playing in 72 of the White Sox 87 games during the first half of the season. And the benefits certainly were evident Friday.
Thome's first homer came with the game tied at 3 when he lined a three-run home run over the right-field wall, scoring Scott Podsednik and Jermaine Dye to put the White Sox (46-43) ahead, 6-3, in the bottom of the fifth. The blast knocked Orioles (40-49) starter Jason Berken from the contest after 4 1/3 innings.
"He uses the whole field," Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said. "He's not reluctant to kind of measure what the pitcher has. He'll take strikes. He'll set the guy up. He's going to the Hall of Fame."
An inning later, Thome stepped to the plate with the bases loaded against Orioles reliever Danys Baez and uncorked a 448-foot bomb that bounced off the black tarp covering the concourse in straightaway center. Podsednik and Alexei Ramirez reached on walks, and Dye was hit by a pitch earlier in the frame to load the bases. Thome's grand slam was the ninth of his career, and it put the White Sox ahead comfortably, 10-5.
"You don't feel it off the bat," Thome said. "When you hit a ball like that, everything kind of stops. It's very special when you do hit a ball like that because obviously, you do get the crowd into it, you come in the dugout and they're all excited. It's a big hit for the team. It's pretty awesome when it happens. It's almost like time stops."
Podsednik, who scored on both Thome home runs, reached base all five teams he stepped to the plate, singling three times, drawing two walks and scoring three times in total.
Thome had tallied six RBIs in a contest four different times, the most recent coming July 6, 2006, against the Orioles, but he had never collected seven RBIs in a game.
"That's a career high for him?" White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko asked afterward. "Yeah, any time Jim gets a career high at this point, it kind of surprises me because he's done so much, and you figure somewhere along the line, he probably ran into that before. It's kind of cool to see it."
Thome now has registered 14 RBIs and three home runs over his past three games dating back to the weekend before the All-Star break.
"When he gets them, he gets them in bunches," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Thome's blasts. "And he gets big ones, too. He doesn't get a home run just to get one. Every time he hits it, it's a very important one. That's the key."
On the mound, White Sox starting pitcher John Danks did not have his best stuff but benefited from major run support to earn the victory and improve to 8-6. He ran up a high pitch count, throwing 97 pitches in five innings of work and escaping two-out, bases-loaded jams in both the fourth and fifth innings. Danks allowed three earned runs and seven hits, striking out three and walking three.
"Definitely it's good to get out of those jams, but at the same time, it's frustrating how I got into the jams," Danks said. "I think there was a couple walks in there. I didn't feel like I had much trouble getting ahead of hitters. It was throwing the pitch I needed to throw to put them away or make them hit my pitch. I feel like I let them off the hook a couple times."
Those problems, however, came before Thome bopped either of his home runs. Once Thome went yard, the White Sox easily put the game on cruise control.
When White Sox reliever Matt Thornton ran into trouble in the eighth inning and surrendered three runs, the South Siders still held a 12-8 lead by inning's end.
All thanks to Thome's record-setting night.
"Playing with Jim is, for me, one of my highlights of my career," Konerko said. "He pretty much does it as good as anybody on and off the field. He's as good as they come."
Jesse Temple is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
