year-old Shugg made his NHL debut, playing 5:11 against Montrea

CHICAGO -- Chris Sale is a dominant power pitcher with the potential for a double-digit strikeout performance every time he takes the mound. But the Chicago White Sox ace said his focus against the San Diego Padres on Sunday was being economical. "The philosophy is on or out in three, so I was just trying to fill the zone with quality strikes and go from there," he said. Sale pitched a two-hitter, Paul Konerko homered and the White Sox posted 4-1 victory to avoid being swept. Sale (5-0) struck out nine, walked none and threw 100 pitches in the complete game performance that lasted just 2:08. He froze Everth Cabrera for a called strike three to end the game, and retired the final 14 batters. Sale has allowed just two earned runs in his last 25 innings spanning four starts, and has a 1.59 ERA overall. The lefty was on the disabled list in late April because of a strained muscle in his pitching arm. Because of that, Sale was on a pitch count -- the White Sox wouldnt say how many -- but he never was in danger of being removed because he was so efficient. "I think the rain-shortened start and then pitching on his regular turn, he was fresh," San Diego manager Bud Black said, referring to Sales last start on Tuesday when he went just three innings. "We havent seen him during the regular season, but you can see why this guys one of the best pitchers in the American League: deceptive delivery, good velocity, really good change, good breaking ball," he said. "He had it working today." Konerko also doubled and drove in three runs as the White Sox won for the eighth time in 13 games. The veteran slugger has been playing every day with rookie Jose Abreu on the disabled list, but that is scheduled to end Monday when Abreu is activated. "Im just trying to chip in," Konerko said. "Im here to have good days against left-handed pitching like that, and you try to do your best on the other days when you have to play like its been. Its been a bit of a whirlwind the past couple weeks getting back in there and playing, but its good to have it today with the way (Sale) pitched." Eric Stults (2-6) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. Sale sailed through the first four innings, retiring 12 straight batters to start the game. Konerko gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the second when he hit a drive to the back of the left-field bullpen for his third homer of the season. Chase Headley led off the Padres fifth with his fifth homer. Tommy Medica followed with a single, but Sale quickly regrouped. He got Jedd Gyorko to ground into a double play and struck out Yonder Alonso to end the inning. "I dont think he missed any of that one," Sale said of Headleys homer. "It was a fastball left right there for him and you cant do that to him. Hes a big, strong guy and made me pay for it, obviously." It was a rare mistake. Through eight innings he had thrown just 84 pitches, making the decision to bring him out for the ninth that much easier for manager Robin Ventura. The White Sox regained the lead in the fifth on a solo homer by Tyler Flowers. They added two more in the sixth when Konerko doubled down the left-field line with two out, driving in Dayan Viciedo and Alexei Ramirez. That was plenty of offence for Sale. "He was fantastic today," Ventura said. "This was as efficient as he has been ever from watching him. He was pounding the strike zone and down in the zone, too." NOTES: Abreu (tendinitis left ankle) played in a simulated game for the second straight day and said he feels fine. He is set to play Mondays game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Sitting out has been difficult," Abreu said through a translator. "But you have to recognize there are things we dont control." No official move will be made until Monday, but Chicago is sending INF Marcus Semien to Triple-A Charlotte. ... Padres CF Cameron Maybin missed the game and is listed as day-to-day after leaving Saturdays game with a sore right calf. ... Director of scouting Doug Laumann said that the White Sox, who pick third in Thursdays amateur draft, "more than likely" would select a pitcher in the first round. Nike Air Max 98 Baratas .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. Nike Air Max 95 Mujer Rebajas . -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive. http://www.tiendasairmaxbaratas.com/ . Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Air Max 2019 Baratas . In the opener of the World Group first-round series, world No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont. Nike Air Max 720 Baratas . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.Hat tricks for Alex Galchenyuk and Vladimir Tarasenko, another good night for Phil Kessel, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullens Statistically Speaking. HEROES Alex Galchenyuk – The third-year Canadiens forward played centre, with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher on his wings, and notched his first career hat trick in Montreals 4-1 win over Carolina. Pacioretty added three assists in the effort. Galchenyuk has been progressing and this season he is playing more (16:28 per game) and generating more shots on goal (2.19 per game) than ever before, so its not altogether surprising that his point production (21 points in 32 games, 0.66 per game) is higher than his first two seasons. Theres lots of room to keep climbing, but Galchenyuk appears to be on the right trajectory. Vladimir Tarasenko – What a breakout season for the third-year Blues winger, who tallied three goals and added an assist in a 5-2 win over Los Angeles, giving him 36 points (20 G, 16 A) in 31 games, good enough for fourth spot in the scoring race. Phil Kessel – Recorded two goals and an assist, with 10 shot attempts (4 SOG), in a 6-2 win over Anaheim, giving him 11 points (6 G, 5 A) in the past nine games. After adding a couple assists against Anaheim, LW James van Riemsdyk also has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in those same nine games. ZEROES Marcus Johansson – Failed to register a shot attempt and had team-worst 23.5% (4 shot attempts for, 13 against) with 50.0% offensive zone starts in Washingtons shootout loss to Florida. Drew Miller, Joakim Andersson – The Red Wings fourth-liners both played more than nine minutes at even-strength against Columbus and werent on for a single shot attempt for (six against). Short nights for goalies: Frederik Andersen – Was pulled from Anaheims 6-2 loss in Toronto after allowing four goals on 20 shots. Andersen got off to a great start, with a .941 save percentage in October, but has a .903 save percentage in 19 games since. Karri Ramo – Calgarys goaltender surrendered four goals on 13 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers. Ramo had been going pretty well until his past couple starts, allowing eight goals on 32 shots and dropping his save percentage from .917 to .903 for the season. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Duncan Keith – Out of the Chicago lineup due to illness, which meant first-unit power play time (2:55) for Brent Seabrook who had a three-point game (1 G, 2 A) in Keiths absence. Jonathan Drouin – Played 17:28, his most since his fourth game of the season (October 25) and had an assist while skating with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan on Tampa Bays top line. Jeremy Morin – Played a season-high 12:50 in his first game with Columbus, spending most of his night with Brian Gibbons and Nick Foligno. Fedor Tyutin – Played 20:41 in his return to the Columbus lineup, after missing a little more than a month with a knee injury. Vincent Trocheck – With Aleksander Barkov returning to the Panthers lineup, Trocheck was a healthy scratch. Ilya Bryzgalov – The veteran goaltender was pressed into action, his first appearance for Anaheim, when Andersen was taken out of the Ducks net. Bryzgalov has fallen on hard times. Since the start fo the 2011-2012 season, his .906 save percentage ranks 31st out of 33 goaltenders that have played at least 100 games. Cody Hodgson – Assisted on Buffalos only goal in a 5-1 loss at Winnipeg, but played just 4:55. Hodgson, who led the Sabres with 44 points last season, has five points (2 G, 3 A) in 31 games this year. Michael Stone – The Coyotes defenceman played just 1:59 before leaving with an upper-body injury against Edmonton. SHORT SHIFTS Jets C Mark Scheifele, who previously had three points in a dozen games, had his second thhree-point game in the past three games, picking up a pair of goals and adding an assist with 12 shot attempts (5 SOG) in a 5-1 win over Buffalo…Lightning C Tyler Johnson had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win at Philadelphia, giving him 33 points in 33 games this season.dddddddddddd Not bad for an undrafted second-line centre…Ducks C Ryan Kesler had a goal and an assist and 11 shot attempts (7 SOG) in a 6-2 loss at Toronto, giving him eight points (5 G, 3 A) in the past six games…Jets RW Michael Frolik had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win over Buffalo, his third multi-point game in the past four…Kings LW Marian Gaborik scored both Los Angeles goals in a 5-2 loss at St. Louis; Gaborik has 27 points (12 G, 15 A) in 39 regular-season games with the Kings since he was acquired last season...Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews and RW Patrick Kane each had a goal and two assists in a 5-3 win against Minnesota. Kane now has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in the past 11 games, while Toews has nine points (2 G,7 A) in the past eight games…Rangers LW Rick Nash scored a pair of goals in a 5-2 win at Calgary, giving him 14 points (8 G, 6 A) during an 11-game point streak. Ducks D Clayton Stoner, who has the worst possession numbers (45.7% Corsi) among Anaheim defencemen with at least 100 minutes of 5-on-5 play, had an unusual, if score-affected, night in Toronto, with 37 shot attempts for and eight against (82.2%) at even-strength…Jets fourth-liners Anthony Peluso (12 shot attempts for, 3 against) and Chris Thorburn (11 for, 2 against) both had better than 80% possession against Buffalo…Arizonas top defence pairing of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Zbynek Michalek combined for 25 shot attempts (13 SOG) against Edmonton, with Ekman-Larsson finally breaking through for the winning goal with 0.3 seconds left in overtime. Maple Leafs G Jonathan Bernier turned back 40 of 42 shots in a 6-2 win over Anaheim. Bernier has keyed the Leafs recent run with a .935 save percentage in December…Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky had a 30-save shutout in a 1-0 shootout win at Detroit…Red Wings G Jimmy Howard recorded a 29-save shutout in the loss…Bruins G Tuukka Rask stopped 38 saves on 40 shots and Predators G Pekka Rinne turned aside 33 of 35 shots in Nashvilles 3-2 shootout win…Oilers G Ben Scrivens stopped 42 of 44 shots faced in a 2-1 overtime loss at Arizona. FIRSTS Andrei Vasilevskiy – With Ben Bishop out, the Lightning brought their highly-touted 2012 first-rounder in for his NHL debut and he stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 win at Philadelphia. Justin Shugg – A fourth-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2010, 22-year-old Shugg made his NHL debut, playing 5:11 against Montrea. Shugg had 11 points (9 G, 2 A) in 17 AHL games with Charlotte before getting promoted to a Carolina team that has Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty injured. FANTASY FOCUS There are three games on the schedule tonight. Here are three players to consider adding to your lineup: Scott Gomez – Given the lack of options in New Jersey, Gomez is getting a remarkable opportunity, playing nearly 19 minutes per game, mostly with Jaromir Jagr, while getting first-unit power play time. Charlie Coyle – The power forward has just two goals (and 11 points) in 29 games, but has been inserted onto the Wilds first power play unit, expected to use his big frame as a presence in front of the net. Jannik Hansen – His ice time has been up and down all year, but the Canucks winger got to skate with the Sedins last game and does have nine points (5 G, 4 A) in the past 12 games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '