Sox Double Down in Vegas

Games between the Cubs and White Sox have become rather commonplace over the last few years thanks to interleague play, but given the fact that it's been five months since Chicagoans had baseball to watch, we'll take anything we can get at this point.

Which is why it was so nice of WGN to broadcast the games between the Cubs and Sox over the last few days, though probably not as nice if you're a Cubs fan.  The White Sox completed their two-game sweep of the Las Vegas series on Thursday afternoon with a 4-3 victory.

Still, in spring training, the final score of a game is the last thing you're looking for.  Instead it's just an opportunity to evaluate players, and on Thursday afternoon there were more than a few guys who stood out for both teams.  First and foremost for the White Sox there was the play of left fielder Josh Kroeger.

Kroeger went 3-for-4 on the day and drove in all four White Sox runs as the former Cubs minor leaguer continues to impress and may even be a darkhorse candidate for a backup outfielder if the team wants to move Brian Anderson should Jerry Owens earn the centefield job.

Also impressing for the White Sox was Jeff Marquez, who is battling for a spot in the starting rotation.  Marquez threw three innings of one hit baseball while striking out two and not allowing any runs.  There's also no doubt that Ozzie Guillen and Don Cooper were happy to see Bobby Jenks and Scott Linebrink each breeze through an inning of work.

For the Cubs, Mike Fontenot is not taking the battle for second base lightly, as he went 2-for-4 to improve his average on the spring to .391.  Aaron Heilman had a nice day on the mound, getting the start and pitching three shutout innings while allowing only one hit and striking out three.  Heilman will likely end up in the bullpen, but if he keeps having outings like this it will be hard for Lou Piniella to keep him out of the rotation.

The two teams will now head back to Arizona for the final month of spring training, and are scheduled to meet two more times before the regular season begins.

Along with writing for NBCCHICAGO.com, Tom Fornelli can also be found contributing at FanHouse, SPORTSbyBROOKS, and his own Chicago sports blog Foul Balls.