Hitting Their Stride

Story Line: Following a recent 4-2 homestand, the Sox pummel the Angels of Anaheim 17-3. The White Sox registered 24 hits on a night when Jim Thome surpassed Mike Schmidt on the all-time home run leader board, with his 549th round tripper.

First Time Since: It's the first time in 54 years that the White Sox had at least 20 more hits in one game than their opponent. On April 23, 1955, in a 29-6 win against Kansas City, the Sox out-hit the Athletics, 29-6, mirroring the final score.

Hitting Their Stride: Every Sox starter had at least one hit last night. Scott Podsednik (.303) and Alexei Rameriez (.243) each had four hits apiece, while Brian Anderson (.307) and A.J. Pierzynski (.273) raised their season averages with three hits apiece.

"Dank You": John Danks improved to 4-3 on the season, scattering four hits on three runs, while walking a career high six batters through six innings.

Santana Says: Angels starter Erwin Santana (0-2) was yanked in the second inning after surrendering nine hits to 13 batters. "Everything was OK but they just hit everything," Santana said. "I located my fastball, my breaking ball, but they hit it. Every time they saw a white thing, they just hit it. I'm not the only pitcher that's happened to. That happens to everybody. Next time, I'll come out and try to do my job better."

549: Jim Thome smacked number 549 last night in Anaheim. Thome passed Phillie great Mike Schmidt on the all-time home run list. Thome will now pursue the likes of Reggie Jackson who is number 11 on the list with 563 home runs.

Where's OsWaldo? Bench coach Joey Cora managed the White Sox for the third straight game Monday night. Ozzie Guillen was in Caracas, Venezuela, where his father-in-law died on Saturday and was buried on Sunday. Guillen is expected to rejoin the team Tuesday in Anaheim.

Next Up: Bartolo Colon (2-4, 4.23 ERA) will visit the mound in Anaheim tonight for the first time since he was a member of the Angels six years ago. The Angels will counter with staff ace Joe Saunders (6-2, 3.17 ERA).

Major League Struggles

Story Line: The Chicago White Sox lose the finale of a four game series to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays swept the series, limiting the Sox to just eight runs over four games.

Ouch!: The White Sox have dropped 12 of 15 games since May 2. The Sox finished 1-6 on a road trip that started in Cleveland a week ago.

Upset Stomach: Following the fifth inning of the White Sox 2-1 loss in Toronto on Saturday, Bartolo Colon left the game with what he described as an "upset stomach." Watching the Sox play lately has left a sour feeling in many stomachs, but something tells me Colon isn't the most discretionary eater.

Deal On The Heal: Carlos Quentin was scratched from the lineup Saturday, May 16, against the Jays because of the sore left heel injury that prevented him from starting two games earlier in the week. Interim skipper Joey Cora slated Quentin for the sixth batting slot. Quentin has not batted below the fifth slot in over a year.

Guillen Talk: "Right now, we're having a really tough time. I really hope that no one starts pointing fingers on the ballclub. We lose as a ballclub. You've got to come here every day and fight. Come here and do the best you can to get it going. How we're going to get it going? Well, that's our job to try and figure out how we're going to get this going."

Enzo's Eyes: There are so many things going wrong with this club right now it's really difficult to pin down one particular. One of the more discouraging stats is the Sox failure to score with runners in scoring position. The Sox were just 2-23 with runners in scoring position in Toronto. If the Sox lose Quentin for 15, it might be some time before the Sox break 20 victories. Both Floyd and Danks are giving Cooper ulcers, and unless the Sox start stringing together some W's, we'll be certain to hear some Kenny Williams sound bytes very soon.

Dank You Very Much

Coming into the 2009 season both Gavin Floyd and John Danks had some pretty big shoes to fill. Their own. Last season, the pitching duo surprised the baseball world combining on 28 wins. Collectively, they earned an ERA just under 4, with a respectable 3.79. Out of the gate both starters have ignited a pitching rotation that had many in baseball circles speculating just how effective it could be. Last night in Baltimore, John Danks (2-0) helped evaporate some of that speculation. Danks was solid in his third start of the season helping the White Sox to a 8-2 win over the Orioles. Danks pitched a solid seven innings allowing only one run on four hits and no walks. John retired 19 of the final 21 batters. "My job is to go out there and put up zeros on the board," Danks said, "but the runs did help for sure." Chicago only needed three runs to support Danks in his outing, but supplied more. Jim Thome's (4) opposite field solo shot in the fourth was all the insurance the lefty needed in securing his second victory of the season. Chris Getz and Josh Fields both continued to solidify the top of the batting order. Getz had three hits for the game including a two out RBI single in the third and Fields (1) homered in the seventh off Dennis Sarfate. "We don't have to rely on just the big boys. Everyone contributed," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Getz had a big game and I am excited about Fields." Bartlo Colon will look for his second victory of the season on Thursday, while Baltimore counters with Adam Eaton.

Loose Sox: Jim Thome (545) is three home runs from tying Mike Schmidt (548) for 13th on the all-time list for homers.

In his three starts this season, John Danks has only given up two runs. Both were home runs.