Today in White Sox History: July 17
Wilbur Wood starts and wins consecutive games for the South Siders
1959
It was a pitcher’s duel for the ages, and one of the key games of the season. The White Sox were in New York, and before 42,168 fans, Ralph Terry and Early Wynn hooked up in a classic. After eight innings, Terry had no-hit the Sox ... while Wynn allowed the Yankees just one hit (an infield hit from Terry!).
In the top of the ninth, the Sox scored two runs thanks to Jim Landis’ bases-loaded hit. (Jim McAnany had broken up the no-hitter with a single leading off the inning.)
Wynn closed down New York in the last of the frame, matching Terry’s two hits allowed, and the Sox had a 2-0 win.
It was Landis who also had the defensive play of the game — maybe of the regular season. He robbed Mickey Mantle of an inside-the-park home run with a sensational catch out by the monuments in center field, 460 feet away from home plate, in the fourth inning.
1975
The magic of the All-Star break meant Wilbur Wood would start — and win — consecutive games for the White Sox. The southpaw knuckleballer had blanked Milwaukee, 5-0, on a three-hitter the previous Sunday, July 13. Two days after the All-Star Game and four days since his last start, here Wood blanked Detroit on a two-hitter, 4-0. The back-to-back wins pushed Wood’s record to 8-13 and ERA down to 4.14.
Crazy though it may seem, this start came on Wood’s regular (three days) rest. He won a third straight game, with a third straight shutout, after just TWO days’ rest the following July 20 — making it three wins/shutouts/complete games in the space of one week.
1989
In a game at Comiskey Park against the Yankees, Carlton Fisk notched his 2,000th career hit. It came in the first inning on a single to center off of former teammate Dave LaPoint. He’d have three for the evening in the 7-3 win, along with an RBI and a run scored. At the time he, Fisk was the 173rd player ever to reach 2,000 hits.
2007
With a 5-3 lead in the ninth at Cleveland, Bobby Jenks came on for his 26th save. After a single and homer to give up the lead straight away, the game instead became Jenks’ five blown save of the season.
However, in getting out of the ninth and sending the game to extras, Jenks started a record-tying streak: Two ground outs and a fly out became the first three batters retired in what would become a streak of 41 consecutive outs over 19 games. Jenks, in throwing what amounted to almost two consecutive perfect games, tied Jim Barr with the 41 retired and set a new AL mark. (Two years later, on the heels of his perfect game start, Mark Buehrle would break the record held by Barr and Jenks.)
The White Sox ended up losing the game, 6-5, in 11 innings.
2009
Jim Thome drove in seven runs for the first time in his long career, clocking a three-run homer in the fifth inning and a grand slam in the sixth in a 12-8 defeat of the Orioles.
2022
Pitcher Dylan Cease was dominant against the Twins in the last game before the All-Star break, going seven innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight in an 11-0 win. With the eight strikeouts, Cease passed Chris Sale as the fastest White Sox pitcher ever to record 500. He did it just short of 400 innings of work; Sale’s record came in a little more than 472 innings pitched.
Cease and two relief pitchers only allowed Minnesota that one hit, a single by Alex Kirilloff in the fifth inning.