"When Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez left San Diego to find new homes in the American League, their eventual pitcher-hitter faceoff was inevitable.

With Gonzalez playing host for their first battle last night, score a landed blow for the slugging Red Sox first baseman but a scorecard win for the White Sox hurler.

"I've been telling everybody in the world about Adrian for a while now," said Peavy (2-0), who allowed only six hits during seven innings, including a home run to Gonzalez in the first inning of Chicago's 7-3 win against the Red Sox. "Adrian knows I got all the respect in the world for him, and if I'm going to give up a homer to anyone, I don't mind giving it up to him."

For Gonzalez, his reunion with Peavy was consistent with the way the first baseman's torrid May has unfolded. After going 2-for-4 last night, the Red Sox slugger now has 41 hits in the month, as well as nine home runs and 31 RBI.

On Peavy's 2-2 pitch in the first, Gonzalez swooped down and launched a cutter into the right-field grandstand for the Red Sox' first run.

"On that pitch, it was just wrong location to the wrong guy," Peavy said. "I've seen it a thousand times (with the Padres), and I knew he was going to make me pay. He's just a great hitter."

But, despite the aforementioned clout and Gonzalez' single to right-center in the sixth, both turned out to be rare Peavy mistakes in an otherwise masterful outing in his first matchup ever against his teammate of four seasons in San Diego."