The man who put Alex Fernandez and Frank Thomas in White Sox uniforms may be gone. But Larry Himes` last two No. 1 draft picks seem to be here for good. Fernandez limited the Seattle Mariners to an unearned run until Thomas could smack his fifth home run to give the Sox a 2-1 victory Sunday in the Kingdome.
The victory means the Sox will still be mathematically alive, though not for long, when they begin the last homestand in Comiskey Park history Tuesday night.
More Top Picks Razer Pro Type Ultra
Any combination of two Sox losses and Oakland wins will eliminate the Sox. They`re off Monday, while Oakland plays in Kansas City.
The Sox, like their park, are doomed, but neither will go quietly. They won nine of their last 11, and they took 15 of 19 on the West Coast this year. They also have the second-best record in baseball.
It all adds up to second place this year, but it gives great hope for next year. Count Fernandez and Thomas among the reasons to be optimistic.
Fernandez has won five of eight big-league decisions and has an earned-run average of 3.45, third-best in the rotation. Thomas is hitting .333 in 51 games, with 5 home runs and 24 runs batted in.
Both had their troubles on Sunday, but both came through when it mattered.
Fernandez, repeating a recent trend, put the leadoff man on in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh innings. But when the Mariners finally did score, it wasn`t entirely Fernandez`s fault. They knotted the score at 1-1 in the seventh on a ground-ball single, a bunt, Thomas` fielding error and a ground out.
Fernandez lasted eight innings before Bobby Thigpen came on for his 53rd save. Fernandez seems to pitch better from the stretch, but he insists it`s coincidental. ”I don`t like pitching with men on base,” he said.
”Hopefully, it won`t continue.”
Fernandez did the same in his last two starts, victories over Oakland and Boston. Against the Red Sox Sept. 13 in Comiskey Park, Fernandez gave up nine hits and three walks in seven innings, but yielded only three runs.
Against the Athletics last Tuesday night in Oakland, Fernandez allowed eight hits and five walks in seven innings but let just two men score. He faced five men in every inning but the seventh.
On Sunday afternoon, he didn`t retire the side in order until the eighth inning.
That makes for a lot of work. Fernandez has pitched 246 1/3 innings this year-121 in college, 49 2/3 in the minor leagues and 75 2/3 for the Sox.
He certainly doesn`t seem tired. Fernandez has lasted no fewer than seven innings for five straight starts, and he has gone eight innings five times in 11 starts.
Fernandez`s staying power was only one of his rumored attributes when the Sox picked him in the first round in June.
”You heard a lot of talk about how good he was from our scouts, but you hear a lot of talk about a lot of guys. . . . They get here and they`re just mere mortals,” Torborg said. ”Then this kid gets here and he`s everything you`ve heard.”
The same is true of Thomas. Some questioned his glove but said his power would compensate for it.
Such was the case Sunday. His seventh-inning bobble of Harold Reynold`s chopper opened the door for Seattle`s lone run.
But Thomas atoned in the next inning. He drove a 3-2 fastball from Matt Young over the wall near the 410-foot marker in center.