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Orioles, White Sox game suspended

Apr 29, 2008 - 2:22 AM By Gene Chamberlain PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CHICAGO (Ticker) - Fabled Chicago White Sox grounds keeper Roger Bossard and his crew could cope no longer when a steady rain became a downpour at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles were deadlocked in a 3-3 tie through 11 complete innings Monday when the game was suspended due to rain.

No date or location for the completion of the contest has been set. All the individual statistics count and the game will be picked up where it ended, but it's possible the contest could be concluded in Baltimore because the Orioles do not return to U.S. Cellular Field this season.

"You've got to tip your hat to Roger and the grounds crew for at least keeping the field playable for as long as you could," White Sox right fielder Nick Swisher said. "It was a pretty heavy rain all day.

"It was kind of shocking for all of us that we actually started that game in that weather."

Chicago's Juan Uribe homered to left field off George Sherrill to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning to tie the score at 3-3. The shot countered Ramon Hernandez's leadoff home run against Scott Linebrink in the top of the frame which gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

Then the rain, which had continued throughout the game, became so severe that the game had to be halted. The contest, which had been scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. local time, was suspended at 6:38 p.m.

Rain delayed the start of the game by two hours and six minutes. After it stopped long enough for the first pitch, it started again and continued throughout the entire contest. By the sixth inning, the grounds crew was fighting to eliminate infield puddles after every half inning.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen lamented blown opportunities, including 14 men left on base. The missed chances, however, were not exclusive White Sox property.

"High school, you can handle that ... little league, can handle that," Guillen said. "Big league, you should know what you're doing."

Orioles reliever Jim Johnson had escaped a possible game-ending, 10th-inning jam when Chicago's Brian Anderson tipped a suicide squeeze that catcher Ramon Hernandez held, which let him throw out Carlos Quentin trying to get back to third.

"It was a pitch down and in," Anderson said. "You've got to get that job done. It wasn't a great pitch to bunt, but it doesn't matter. You've got to get the job done right there. No excuses."

Anderson admitted it wasn't exactly the kind of weather for executing much of anything.

"It was tough for hitters and the guys in the field," Anderson said. "It was bad. When I got on second base, it was unbelievable that anybody was able to field on that."

White Sox starter Javier Vazquez had limited the Orioles to four hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He faced only one more than the minimum number of batters in his last six innings.

However, Guillen pulled Vazquez in favor of closer Bobby Jenks, who gave up the tying run in the top of the ninth when Brian Roberts hit a leadoff double, stole second and came home on Melvin Mora's single to center.

"I always want to stay in," Vazquez said. "As a pitcher, you always want to stay in there.

"The manager decides and that's it."

It was Jenks' second blown save - both against the Orioles - and the fifth straight blown save opportunity by the White Sox bullpen.

Paul Konerko, who homered twice in Sunday's White Sox win, lined a single to center off submarine-style righthanded reliever Chad Bradford in the seventh inning to score Nick Swisher from second base for a 2-1 Chicago lead.

The first White Sox run resulted from Quentin's sixth home run of the season to tie the score at 1-1 against starter Daniel Cabrera in the sixth. Quentin had reached base safely in nine of his previous 10 plate appearances coming into the game, and got on 4-of-5 times on Monday.

Aubrey Huff accounted for Baltimore 's first run with a one-out second-inning solo shot off Vazquez.

The Orioles had chances to win in the ninth and 10th.

After tying it in the ninth with his RBI single, Mora got picked off first by Jenks. In the 10th, Adam Jones got caught rounding third too far on an infield hit by Brandon Fahey and was tagged out by Crede.