Sep 16, 2007, 21:32 GMT
Chicago, IL - Jim Thome's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, the 500th of his storied career, sent the Chicago White Sox to a dramatic 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the finale of a three-game set from U.S. Cellular Field.
The native of Peoria, Illinois became the 23rd player in major-league history to reach the hallowed mark, and the third this season after Toronto's Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees.
Showing a flair for the dramatic, Thome's homer to center field off Angels reliever Dustin Moseley (4-3) on a 3-2 pitch ended a contest which saw the Sox rally from a 7-1 deficit.
Pinch-hitter Darin Erstad began the frame with a line single, setting the stage for Thome, who unleashed a typically majestic blast which landed deep into the seats in center. As he touched home plate, his fellow teammates mobbed him and then hoisted the burly left-handed hitter onto their collective shoulders.
Thome ended an 0-for-11 slump, including an 0-for-4 performance at the plate before his game-winner.
Mike MacDougal (2-5) hurled two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for Chicago. Starter Mark Buehrle allowed 11 hits and seven runs -- six earned -- over 6 1/3 frames.
Josh Fields hit a three-run homer and Danny Richar added a two-run shot for the White Sox, who took two of three in the series and have won three of four overall. Toby Hall and Jerry Owens each knocked in a run.
Juan Rivera hit a two-run homer for the Angels, who have dropped three of four. Mike Napoli and Robb Quinlan added two hits and an RBI each, Vladimir Guerrero homered and scored twice, and Howie Kendrick contributed three hits and drove in a run in defeat.
Despite the loss, the Angels lowered their magic number to six for clinching the AL West title as Seattle lost at home to Tampa Bay later Sunday.
Guerrero's solo homer in the first put the Angels on the board, and Rivera's two-run shot in the fourth made it 3-0.
Owens' RBI single in the fifth put the Sox on the board, but the Halos put four on the board in the seventh on run-scoring singles from Quinlan and Kendrick, an Andy Gonzalez error and Napoli's bases-loaded walk.
Chicago came back in a big way with four in the home half on an RBI single by Hall and a three-run homer by Fields. Richar's two-run shot in the eighth tied the game before Thome's dramatics in the ninth completed the comeback.
It ruined a solid start from the Angels' Joe Saunders, who yielded just two hits and one run over six full innings.
Game Notes
Chicago leads the season series, 5-4...Thome now has 28 homers this season. He has hit 70 with the White Sox, 96 with the Phillies and a franchise-high 334 with Cleveland. He needed 6,809 at-bats to reach 500 home runs, the fourth-fastest in major-league history behind Mark McGwire (5,487), Babe Ruth (5,800), and Harmon Killebrew (6,671)...Thome's first homer came on October 4, 1991 at New York for the Indians...Angels reliever Chris Bootcheck was tagged for four hits and four runs in one-third of an inning...LA outhit Chicago 15-10...Attendance was 29,010.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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