Oh sweet victory, how I have missed you lately! It’s always a happy day in my book when the White Sox beat the Yankees, and tonight was no different, as the Sox picked up the 9-6 win.

Gavin Floyd was the starter tonight, and just like basically every other game Gavin ever starts, I was left wondering whether we’d see Good Gavin or Bad Gavin. And boy did we see Bad Gavin. He left the game in the third with a really gross-looking line: three runs on five hits and four walks in 2.1 innings pitched. Not pretty, Gavin. Sooooo not pretty. He also hit Raul Ibanez, so Gavin recorded seven outs and allowed ten batters to reach base.

Robin pulled him in favor of Hector Santiago who pitched three innings. He didn’t have a much better line, as he gave up three runs on four hits and three walks. He had two wild pitches as well, so it was a bit of an experience watching these first two pitchers.

Donnie Veal came on for an inning and pitched very well. He gave up one hit and struck out two. Brett Myers came out and pitched two thirds of an inning and picked up the win tonight. Matt Thornton, who hadn’t pitched in almost a week, pitched a perfect eighth before Addison Reed picked up his 22nd save in the ninth.

Somehow, after an awful start by Gavin, the Sox managed to pull out a win. Freddy Garcia pitched 4.1 innings and was cruising for a while until the fifth inning. With an 0-1 count, Alexei Ramirez hit a ball down the third base line to lead off the fifth. Third base umpire Bill Welke ruled the ball fair, and it appeared Ramirez had a double. Home plate umpre Tim Tschida reversed the call and ruled it foul, sending Ramirez back to the plate. He eventually struck out, but while the umpires were discussing the play and while they were explaining the reasoning to Robin Ventura, Garcia didn’t throw any pitches. He lost his rhythm. Garcia struck out Ramirez on the next pitch, and the Yankees held onto their 3-0 lead with one out.

This is where Garcia spiraled. Gordon Beckham came on and singled, and Dewayne Wise hit a homer to right center. 3-2 Yankees, still one out. Kevin Youkilis hit a single, and Garcia gave up back-to-back walks to Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko. Joe Girardi pulled him for Cody Eppley who got Alex Rios to ground into a force out. Paulie was out at second and Youk scored to tie the game at three.

Clay Rapada came on to get AJ Pierzynski out, but AJ had other plans, knocking a single to center which allowed Dunn to score. Joba Chamberlain came on and allowed a single to Dayan Viciedo which scored Rios before getting Ramirez to fly out to end the inning.

That gave the Sox a 5-3 lead going into the sixth. The Yankees took the lead in the sixth, but the Sox tied it up in the bottom of the inning when Beckham launched his 12th home run of the season. The Yankees were done scoring for the game after that inning, but the Sox tacked three more runs on the board via a two-run home run by Ramirez in the seventh and a solo home run by Dunn in the eighth.

Tomorrow night, Francisco Liriano faces off against Ivan Nova. Liriano hasn’t had much luck in his career against the Yankees. He is 1-4 lifetime with a 4.02 ERA. He did win his first game as a White Sox in his last outing against the Blue Jays. Nova comes in with an 11-6 record and a 4.76 ERA. He’s been great against the Sox in his career, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.33 ERA.

The Tigers had the night off, so the Sox now have a two-game lead again in the AL Central. They start a set with the Blue Jays in Detroit tomorrow, so keep an eye on them too.