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CHICAGO -- A sold-out crowd at U.S. Cellular Field
came to see the Chicago White Sox unveil their first World
Series championship banner in 88 years. Only a small percentage
got to see them take the first step toward defending that
title. Jim Thome hit a two-run homer and the White Sox endured a nearly
three-hour rain delay to post a 10-4 victory over the Cleveland
Indians in the first game of the 2006 baseball season. Chicago led the American League Central Division throughout last
season and won 11 of 12 games in the playoffs to win its first
title since 1917. The White Sox unveiled the banner behind the
left field bleachers in a pre-game ceremony Sunday. "I've had a lot of Opening Days in my life," White Sox manager
Ozzie Guillen said. "That was real special, I think that it's
probably the best one. It was a great, great experience. I
really enjoyed it." The White Sox gave the fans more reason to celebrate by scoring
three runs in the third inning against Indians starter C.C.
Sabathia, who left the game with one out in the frame due to a
strained right abdominal muscle. However, Mark Buehrle allowed three runs in the top of the
fourth before the lengthy delay, which sent much of the crowd of
38,802 to the exits. The White Sox did not waste much time to move back in front once
play resumed. Juan Uribe drew a leadoff walk from Fernando
Cabrera (0-1), who also walked rookie Brian Anderson. Tadahito Iguchi lifted a sacrifice fly two batters later and
Thome - acquired in an offseason trade with Philadelphia -
followed with a drive well over the right field fence for his
first homer with Chicago and a 6-3 lead. "It was exciting," said Thome, who spent the first 12 years of
his career with the Indians. "I think the main thing was that
our club really stayed focused when it did rain. It was a big
win for us momentum-wise ... because Cleveland's got such a good
team." Cabrera surrendered three more runs in the fifth without
recording an out. The righthander was tagged for six runs and
two hits with four walks in one-plus frames. "My game wasn't
there," Cabrera said. "I wasn't throwing strikes. Things
happen. Next time I need to go out there and try to do my job." Brandon McCarthy (1-0) took over for Buehrle after the rain
delay and pitched three perfect innings. "I think (McCarthy) was the star of the game," Guillen said.
"He saved my bullpen. He threw the ball extremely well." Cleveland manager Eric Wedge did not use the two-hour, 54-minute
delay as an excuse. "Our guys are much better than that," Wedge said. "It was a
sloppy night all around with the weather, the way we played and
the way we pitched." World Series MVP Jermaine Dye went 3-for-3 with a walk and
Iguchi and Anderson had two RBIs apiece for Chicago, which went
14-5 against Cleveland last season, including a sweep in the
final series that eliminated the Indians from playoff
contention. Victor Martinez had an RBIs double and newcomer Eduardo Perez hit
a two-run homer in the third for Cleveland, which managed seven
hits and committed two errors. "It wasn't a good night at all," Wedge said. "We have to put
this one behind us and we certainly need to use (Monday) to
regroup and come back." Sabathia will be re-evaluated Monday, although Wedge indicated
that he may miss his next start. "We are going to see how he feels tomorrow, but its a potential
DL situation," Wedge said. "He did it just on that one pitch
though."
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