CHICAGO -- Todd Frazier made no secret of the fact that a 40-home run season meant a great deal to him during his first year on Chicago's South Side.
But with that 40th being the lone run in a 1-0, rain-soaked victory over the Rays on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, it meant that much more.
"It's exciting. I feel happy. I'm excited," Frazier said. "Not many people have hit 40 home runs in a year so it's a good feat to have.
"I told you guys the other day I was thinking about it. I had a bunch of people text me it's coming. Today is the day. It wasn't that much pressure. It was just a matter of knowing that it's there, and I'm glad to get it over with and now it's on to another goal of mine."
Frazier joined Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Jermaine Dye, Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn as the only White Sox players to reach 40 in a season, an occurrence taking place 12 times in total.
The third baseman's next goal might be 100 RBIs, sitting at 98 after connecting on a 1-2 knuckleball from Eddie Gamboa with two outs in the seventh.
"Any time a guy rounds off that number, it's always a big deal for you," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He's been wanting to get there for a while. I don't know if you guys know, but he's been talking about it for a while.
"I've heard it a lot," added a smiling Ventura. "He's been aiming for that. He wants to get 40 and 100, and especially if it counts like it did tonight."
This 394-foot homer extended Frazier's hitting streak to a season-high 12, which happens to be the longest for a White Sox player this season. Frazier has a .391 average with eight RBIs and 13 runs scored during that stretch, lifting his average to .228.
Wednesday's milestone came off a pitch he rarely sees, done in support of a pitcher who richly deserved the victory.
"One kind of stayed up just a little bit longer, and you know got a good piece of it and away it went," Frazier said of Gamboa's knuckler.
Of White Sox starter Miguel González, who went 8 1/3 scoreless innings, Frazier said, "Yeah, [Gonzalez] did great man. Just motoring guys down left and right and hitting his spots and throwing strikes. As a defender, that's all you can ask for. It keeps you in the game. He deserved that one today for sure."