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Ramirez hits record slam as White Sox force playoff for AL Central title

Sep 30, 2008 - 2:46 AM By Gene Chamberlain PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Alexei Ramirez has his own definition of the word patience.

After Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen asked the Cuban rookie to be patient with the season on the line and bases loaded in a 2-2 game in the sixth inning Monday, Ramirez ripped a first-pitch fastball from reliever Gary Glover into the left-field seats for a grand slam that led to an 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Ramirez's major league-high fourth slam this season set up a one-game playoff Tuesday between the White Sox and Minnesota Twins for the American League Central title.

"Ozzie came up to me and said to be patient with this pitcher," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "I told him 'I'm going to do what I've always done. I'm going to treat this at bat like every other at-bat.'

"I think I've had 10 or 11 at-bats (lately) where I really haven't hit the ball real well. But I told Ozzie to have confidence in me because I'm going to get these runners home somehow."

The four grand slams is a single-season rookie record, and tied a White Sox record set by Albert Belle in 1997. It also was Chicago's 12th slam of the year, a team record.

"I think when (Guillen) said have patience, he meant patience with the pitch, patience with the type of pitch that is going to come in," Ramirez said. "I know if I swing it and swing at the right pitch, good things are going to happen."

Good things happened in that sixth inning for Chicago in the form of a five-run rally after Detroit had taken a 2-1 lead on Gavin Floyd's fifth-inning throwing error in this makeup of rained-out contest that was delayed again Monday by just over three hours due to more rain.

A second straight win after a five-game losing streak let Chicago improve to 88-74, the same record as Minnesota. The one-game playoff will be a 7:35 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, with the winner starting a divisional playoff series at the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

"That's the kind of ballclub we have," Guillen said. "We struggle and lose five games in a row, then we bounce back.

"(On Tuesday) 162 games mean nothing. It's only about one game. And that's great. That's a good feeling."

Tigers starter Freddy Garcia had overcome some early wildness to cruise into the sixth with a 2-1 lead against his former team, but walked leadoff batter Dewayne Wise. When Wise stole second on a pitch to Jermaine Dye, Garcia walked off the mound complaining of shoulder tightness.

"I was worried about him when he left the game," said Guillen, who is an in-law of Garcia's. "I thought it was his arm. And thank God he did leave the game.

"I don't think we took the right approach to Freddie. We were swinging at all kinds of things we saw. We didn't let him pitch. We were just lucky enough to beat him."

Armando Galarraga, who went 13-6 as a rookie starter, entered the game on three days' rest to pitch in relief and threw two wild pitches, the second one walking Dye and allowing Wise to knot the game at 2-2.

Lefthanded reliever Bobby Seay then struck out Jim Thome before intentionally walking Paul Konerko. However, he also issued a free pass to Ken Griffey Jr. to load the bases. Glover came on and surrendered the home run to the rail-thin Cuban.

So where does the 6-foot-3, 185-pound second baseman get such power?

"Wow I don't know his mom, I don't know his dad," Guillen said, thinking about genetics.

"I don't think he's using illegal stuff (steroids) - if you see his body. The kid has unbelievable bat speed."

Starting pitcher Gavin Floyd (17-8) threw 118 pitches in six innings to get the victory, but it looked for a short time like his fielding error would bring an end to Chicago's season.

With two outs and the teams tied at 1-1 in the sixth following a double by Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn hit a tapper in front of the mound. Floyd slipped slightly, bobbled the ball and then threw high over the first baseman Konerko for an error that allowed Cabrera to score the go-ahead run.

"I kind of slipped up throwing it over to Konerko," Floyd said. "I was mad at myself for making that error. I think I still had time, I think I just rushed it a little bit. It happens.

"We put it behind us and we battled and got back into it."

Ramirez added more insurance in the eighth when he singled, stole second and came home on A.J. Pierzynski's double to right off Aquilino Lopez. The Tigers' fourth wild pitch of the game put Pierzynski at third, and he scored when the second baseman Raburn booted Juan Uribe's grounder.

Floyd finished with two runs - one earned - and five hits allowed, two walks and eight strikeouts in six innings while working on three days' rest. Chicago relievers, who had been shaky of late, set down Detroit with just one hit over the final three innings.

Garcia allowed two runs and two hits while striking out three and walking three in five-plus frames.

The first three White Sox batters of the game reached against Garcia, with Orlando Cabrera and Wise drawing walks before Dye delivered an RBI single to center. Garcia then retired 11 straight batters before a two-out single by Griffey in the fourth. Garcia retired 15 of 16 before walking Wise and leaving with the injury.

The Tigers tied the score at 1-1 in the fifth when Raburn hit a leadoff single to left, stole second and came around on Brandon Inge's RBI double that just eluded Wise as he jumped against the left-field wall.

Galarraga (13-7) took the defeat for Detroit , which finished last in the AL Central with a 74-88 record.

"Freddy pitched a great game and didn't deserve to lose that way," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He was the perfect pitcher to have out there because he's a big-game pitcher.

"That's just the way our entire season has gone."