Pat Borders was correct Sunday night when he called his game-winning single in the 10th inning “just the kind of lucky break we needed.”
But there was nothing lucky about the way Roberto Hernandez pitched the final three innings. He earned the White Sox their chance to edge the Toronto Blue Jays 10-9, to snap a five-game losing streak and to avoid the embarrassment of blowing leads of 5-0, 7-2 and 8-4.
The victory also put the Sox back in the lead for the American League wild-card berth.
Hernandez retired nine of the 10 batters he faced to improve to 5-1 with a 1.04 earned-run average. He stonewalled the Jays in the top of the 10th after they had a runner on third and nobody out.
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“I pride myself on coming in and throwing strikes,” said Hernandez, who fired 32 of his 40 pitches in the strike zone. “There’s no defense for a walk.”
Hernandez entered the game with the score tied 8-8 and the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth. Alex Gonzalez put the Jays ahead 9-8 with a sacrifice fly, but the Sox tied it at 9 in the last of the ninth when Harold Baines doubled home Robin Ventura.
Jacob Brumfield doubled leading off the top of the 10th and reached third on a wild pitch.
The crowd of 19,647 began hollering louder on successive pitches as Hernandez stranded Brumfield by retiring Ed Sprague on a pop foul, Juan Samuel on a grounder and Charlie O’Brien via strikeout.
Dave Martinez doubled to lead off the bottom of the 10th, took third on Domingo Cedeno’s two-strike sacrifice bunt and scored on Borders’ flare single to center.
“This team will not give up,” said Martinez. “It still believes in itself.’
Manager Terry Bevington said he permitted Hernandez, normally a one-inning closer, to pitch three innings because his pitch count was low and he had not worked in several days.