Thomas Lifts Sox

WHITE SOX 5 ATHLETICS 4

Frank Thomas got a lift in the offseason when he went back tohis college days of weightlifting and now he's a professor ofslugging.

Determined to have a powerful season, Thomas hit his 29th homerun Monday night to break a seventh-inning tie and lead the White Soxto a 5-4 victory over the Oakland A's.

"I was looking to have a big home run year and I'm right onpace, but I don't go up trying to hit one," said Thomas, whose3-for-3 performance against Bobby Witt (8-11) carried his average to.321.

"I didn't think I crushed this one, but the way it jumped Ithought it might go out."

The ball went 429 feet to left-center field to make a winner ofAlex Fernandez (13-6), but not before a scare in the eighth inningwhen the A's loaded the bases off Donn Pall and Scott Radinsky.

Roberto Hernandez, though, got pinch-hitter Lance Blankenship ona popup and breezed through the ninth inning for his 24th save in 28opportunites.

"He's got good stuff; we all know that," manager Gene Lamontsaid. "Tonight, he went right at them. He's a hardballer."

Fernandez considers himself a grinder.

"This was one of those grind games," he said of four A's runs(one unearned) in seven innings on 10 hits.

"I made the pitches when I had to, and that's all that counts."

The triumph didn't increase the Sox' lead on second-place KansasCity, which rallied to top Seattle and remain 3 1/2 games back.

But it did put a charge back into the White Sox, who had lostfive of their previous seven games.

"It seemed Frank took it upon himself after what happened in theeighth inning yesterday," Lamont ventured of Sunday's contest whenThomas popped up on a Mike Butcher curve with two runners on base ina 2-1 defeat to the Angels.

"No, that wasn't it," Thomas corrected. "That was a good3-and-2 slow-breaking pitch. He got me, that's all."

Thomas said he was "surprised" to see Witt still pitching afterhaving given up four runs on nine hits the first six innings,including two RBI singles by Robin Ventura, a double by Ozzie Guillenand RBI-grounder by Tim Raines.

"He had walked me the last time, so I knew he'd try to start meout with a strike," Thomas said.

He got it.

Witt threw a fastball that Thomas identified at the knees.

"I have a home run swing this season, mostly from memory," hesaid of work in the batting cage.

The home run helped the paid crowd of 36,643 at Comiskey Parkget its mind off Thomas' first-base throwing error the previousinning that allowed the A's to stage a comeback.

The White Sox scored in the first inning on Ventura's single,but the A's went ahead in the third on a fielder's-choice RBI by TroyNeel and a double by Mike Aldrete.

The White Sox shot ahead 4-2 in the fifth on Raines' grounderand singles by Joey Cora and Ventura.

But the A's inched back on an unearned run in the sixth andAldrete's single in the seventh.

Enter Thomas.

Exit the A's. BOX SCORE, PAGE 78