The only two hits Buehrle allowed were home runs to Aaron Hill and former teammate Frank Thomas. Those were the only hitters to reach base against Buehrle, but Roy Halladay outdueled him as each of them was trying for his 100th career victory.
Thomas' homer was his fifth against the Sox and the 495th of his career. His 243 homers as a designated hitter tie him with
To exacerbate matters, the Sox lost center fielder
Outfielder
"Losing a game like that, it's hard to think about," said manager
Halladay, in his first start since coming off the disabled list after an appendectomy, didn't allow a runner past first base after the third inning.
But the third haunted the Sox. Rob Mackowiak led off with a single and moved to third on
But Mackowiak was thrown out at home on Erstad's grounder to first base. Erstad was thrown out trying to steal second on the next pitch and Tadahito Iguchi grounded out.
"[Halladay] is as good as it gets," catcher
"He found a new weapon. He used to throw a cut fastball not as hard. Now he's throwing it 92 m.p.h. He's not throwing anything straight."