THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: JUNE 17/Take that Cubs II (1997)

THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: JUNE 17

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1997: The White Sox treated a New Comiskey Park regular-season record crowd of 44,249 to a 5-3 win over the Cubs. Dave Martinez fronted the Sox for good in the first with a two-run home run. Winning pitcher Doug Drabek squelched a Cub rally in the sixth when he fanned Ryne Sandberg with two men on base. Chris Snopek added an insurance run with a seventh-inning homer in the Sox first regular-season win over the Cubs.

1999: Paul Konerko made sure the White Sox took care of the Baltimore Orioles at Comiskey Park. Konerko’s first career grand slam gave the Sox some breathing room in a 9-3 win before 16,496 on the South side. Konerko’s blast came in the seventh off Jesse Orosco after the Orioles had pulled to within two runs in the top of the frame. The triumph was the Sox fifth in their last six games and also featured homers from Magglio Ordonez and Chris Singleton.

2000: The first-place White Sox scored eight runs in the first three innings and held off the Yankees for a 10-9 win in New York. The victory was the White Sox sixth straight on their road trip,10th a row overall on the road and allowed them to take a 7.5 game lead in the Central Division. Magglio Ordonez’s three-run homer in the secondinning helped the White Sox build a 10-3 lead. The Yankees scored four in the sixth and two more in the eighth before Keith Foulke subdued the Yankees to preserve the Sox 12th win in their last 13 games.

2005: Mark Buehrle tossed an eight-hitter in the White Sox 8-0 win over the Dodgers before 28,870 at US Cellular Field. Buehrle struck out six and did not walk a batter while being backed by two double plays in improving to 8-1. He posted the second complete game shutout by a Sox pitcher in an interleague game and the first since Wilson Alvarez whitewashed the Cubs on June 18, 1997. Frank Thomas and Jermaine Dye both homered in the game that took just 2 hours and 24 minutes.