Floyd Comfortable In Baltimore Return

Mitch Stringer/PressBox  (Pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Mount St. Joseph graduate Gavin Floyd earned his 14th win in front of family and friends at Camden Yards.)

By: Jeff Seidel

Gavin Floyd felt comfortable being back home again on Tuesday. The Orioles weren't as comfortable seeing him.

The former Mount St. Joseph star is having a true break-out season with the Chicago White Sox this year and kept it going against his hometown team. The big right-hander shut down the Orioles, allowing just two runs on four hits in eight innings as Chicago rolled to an 8-3 victory at Camden Yards.

Floyd, a former No. 1 draft pick, struggled through parts of three seasons with the Phillies before the White Sox got him in a deal last year. He went just 1-5 with a 5.27 ERA in Chicago in 2007 but began to show flashes of what made him a No. 1 pick.

Floyd struggled mightily with control and command with the Phillies -- problems that mystified everyone since those were two of his strong points in high school -- but slowly began to get it back last year. This year, he nearly threw two no-hitters in the first weeks of the season and took off from there.

The victory over the Orioles improved his record to 14-6 with a strong 3.70 ERA. Even better, he got to show a large group of family and friends his good fastball, nasty breaking ball and much-improved command.

"I'm just trying to finish this season strong and, hopefully, get into the playoffs," Floyd said to the Chicago Tribune afterwards. "Try to help out our team as much as possible. I'm 0-0 in my mind after every start."

Posted August 28, 2008