"We're not going to go 162-0, I don't think,'' he said.
The Tigers, who added Fielder to the mix Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander head up, are considered by many the best team in the majors. A lot of people came to U.S. Cellular Field expecting to watch Cabrera, Fielder, Delmon Young & Co. whack pitches from Jake Peavy into the seats at such a pace that the White Sox would have a tough time keeping up.
But during a cloudy Friday home opener, with a sellout crowd of 38,676 honoring the tradition that started on the other side of 35th Street, it was the Sox and rookie manager Robin Ventura who outplayed Jim Leyland's Tigers. The final score was 5-2 and even Ventura had a hard time believing how well the afternoon played out for him.
Ventura, like everyone else in the White Sox camp, worries about Dayan Viciedo's defensive skills. He stuck with his plan to use Brent Lillibridge as a defensive replacement even after Viciedo's diving catch robbed Andy Dirks of an extra-base hit that would have given the Tigers a seventh-inning lead.
"I told Lilly, 'You better be really good,''' Ventura said.
It was a funny moment, and a fun day all around on the South Side. While Viciedo and shortstop Alexei Ramirez made electrifying plays, nobody had more to do with this triumph than Peavy. The one-time Padres wunderkind finally is getting some cooperation from his high-mileage body, and the Tigers got a first-hand demonstration of how he can make the White Sox an interesting team.
With his velocity climbing as high as 94 mph, Peavy carried a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning. He got three swinging strikes on the first hitter of the game, Austin Jackson, and you practically could see his self-esteem grow as he stood on the mound, staring in at A.J. Pierzynski.
"The hitters let you know how they're reacting to the ball,'' Peavy said afterward. "I struck out as many guys with the fastball as I did with my breaking ball. That's an encouraging sign.''
This was the second straight quality start for Peavy, and the victory matched one last weekend in Texas over the Rangers, when he settled for a no-decision in a game Alex Rios decided with a ninth-inning home run. Peavy lost the shutout Friday on Young's two-run homer drilled into the White Sox bullpen.
He struck out eight and walked one, giving him 13 strikeouts against two walks in his 122/3 innings. Those are manly totals, showing he's challenging hitters, not picking at the corner of the plate. The Tigers had 12 swing-and-misses overall, including at least five at fastballs.
Peavy pumped three straight 92-mph heaters in to Fielder in the fourth inning, when he later snared a ball crushed up the middle to leave Fielder exasperated as he ran down the base line.
Peavy was as big of a question mark as the White Sox's ability to score runs entering the season. The 15 strikeouts Max Scherzer the Tigers bullpen registered — including seven in seven at-bats by Adam Dunn (four) and Gordon Beckham — show that the lineup remains suspect.
The White Sox are on pace for 1,539 strikeouts overall — 247 more than the American League record. That's the bad news. The good news is the 2010 Rays have the record and they rode their starting pitching to the AL East title.
The White Sox hope they can find a way to be the team that pushes the Tigers in this year's Central race. For that to happen, they will need excellence from the rotation that just offloaded Mark Buehrle.
Enter Peavy and Chris Sale, the 23-year-old lefty who beat the Indians on Monday and will face the Tigers on Sunday. They're the two guys who could be difference-makers.
When Sale was at Florida Gulf Coast University, his changeup was his bread-and-butter pitch. He's still getting it back after spending the last 11/2 seasons in the bullpen — as a training tool, he even throws changeups when he plays catch — and could be hell on wheels if he combines it with a mid- to high-90s fastball and the devastating slider he mastered as a two-pitch reliever.
After three nightmarish seasons, Peavy is cautious about expectations. But listening to him it's clear his confidence is growing.
"I'm excited,'' he said. "I'm going to be able to compete.''
He hopes his team can too.
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Twitter @ChiTribRogers
