Chris Sale, Phil Humber and Jose Quintana pitched this weekend for the Sox. I expected them to win 2, if not all 3 from the Dodgers. The one I was most nervous about was Friday’s game, only because Clayton Kershaw was throwing for the Dodgers.

Sox led in every game, sometimes by 2 or more runs, but still couldn’t put the no names from LA away. You can count on one hand how many bad starts Sale has had this year, but Friday he wasn’t at his best.

When the Sox took the 5-1 lead, I said “Ballgame!” Little did I know that that the Sox would give up 5 runs in the 6th inning. Once Sale was knocked out of the game, reliever Jesse Crain couldn’t keep the Dodgers down either, giving up the tying and eventual winning run. Crain came back the next might to throw a scoreless inning, so all’s good.

I like that about Ventura, going right back to a guy one day after he struggled. Players like that too.

By giving up 5 runs, Sale dropped to 2nd in the American League in ERA.

I went to Saturday’s game. Phil Humber once again looked lights out for 2 innings. After his team gave him a 4 run lead, Humber gave all that back. Dodgers almost singled him to death, getting 6 one-baggers and scoring 4 runs. Giving up a leadoff single to the pitcher is never a positive sign.

Chad Billingsley actually picked up 2 hits off Humber. It was 4-4 going into the 3rd when I looked at my friend and exclaimed, “There’s gonna be a lot more runs scored in this one.” So what happened? Sox got a sacrifice fly in the top of the 4h and won the game 5-4.

John Danks is getting an MRI on his sore shoulder once the team gets back to Chicago. Luckily, Jose Quintana has stepped up, big time.

Quintana pitched another gem, but shouldn’t have had the opportunity to win the game. What’s up with the umps this year? Jerry Meals made a horrible call in the 6th inning taking a run away from the Dodgers. Matt Treanor was called out after the Sox appealed saying the Dodger catcher left third too early. He didn’t, but Meals said he did. That was awful. Good for the Sox, but bad for baseball.

I promise you, Jordan Danks is a great fielder. He didn’t look it in the 10th inning, playing a Tony Gwynn single into a triple. Dodgers won, but the story is Quintana, who gave up no runs in 8 innings. That guy has been a lifesaver.

Addison Reed blew his first save of 2012. Since assuming the closers role back on May 5th, Reed’s ERA in save situation is zero. It is now 1.11. Reed’s ERA in non-closing situations since May 5th is a whopping 17.30. The man ain’t gonna be perfect every day.

One guy who is playing perfect in the position the Sox need to him be is Adam Dunn. With his bomb on Friday, Dunn now leads all of baseball with 23 round trippers. He is also 3rd in the A.L. in RBI with 52. I don’t wanna hear anything about his batting average. Sox aren’t paying his to bat .300, or .275, or .250. They are paying him to hit it out of the park.

Remember when Gordon Beckham was hitting .153 on April 30th? He has now raised it to .234. He had 3 hits and 2 walks in the 3 games at Dodger Stadium, plus a couple remarkable defensive plays on Sunday.

What’s in Alex Rios water? The man is a hitting machine lately. 2 home runs, 3 RBI and a stolen base in the 3 games. The only problem I could see was his off-line throws to the plate that couldn’t get Treanor or Bobby Abreu. They would have had to have been perfect to get either of those 2 guys, but I didn’t want to blow too much smoke in his ear.

Forgettable weekend for Matt Thornton, lost both game for the Sox. 1.2 IP, 2 earned runs isn’t good at all. Who knows what would have happened if Danks doesn’t misplay Gwynn’s ball on Sunday. Over the past 2 years, left field has really let Thornton down. Juan Pierre got him at least 3 times last year, and now Danks this year. What’s up with that?

Sox now get to face the Cubs again. The last time these 2 met the Sox were coming back from a series in Anaheim. They swept the 3 from the Cubbies. Let’s hope they can do it again.