Chicago @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 16, 2010 ) Chi. White Sox 2, Cleveland 6
The Chicago White Sox were supposed to challenge the Minnesota Twins for the top spot in the AL Central this season. Following Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians, Chicago sits in last place in the division.
There is plenty of time to fix that, but a team with a payroll north of $105 million better not be last for long, particularly in what is widely considered baseball’s weakest division.
Perhaps the biggest frustration right now for Chicago is an inability to string together a couple of key hits to spark big innings.
Mitch Talbot, who was making his sixth appearance in the majors, pitched a complete game Friday as the Indians claimed three of the first four games against their division rivals.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen isn’t ready to panic yet, but he is expected to juggle his lineup Saturday when Jake Westbrook and Jake Peavy pitch in a rematch of last week’s second game of the season.
Guillen will move A.J. Pierzynski and Mark Teahen up from seventh and ninth, respectively. He will also sit designated Mark Kotsay in favor of Andruw Jones.
The moves are meant to ignite a lineup that has scored five runs in its last two games.
The Indians, meanwhile, have found the perfect way to solve their festering bullpen woes - avoiding it entirely.
Cleveland starters Talbot and David Huff have pitched consecutive complete games, the first time that has happened for the Indians since 1996. Cleveland enters Saturday’s game on a two-game winning streak and feeling much better about its starting pitching than it did at the beginning of the season.
That’s good, because the Indians feel much worse about the bullpen. Chris Perez has struggled trying to fill in for Kerry Wood, forcing Cleveland to juggle the rest of the relievers’ roles. But manager Manny Acta has been willing to give his starters a chance to complete what they started.
The Indians are also showing an ability to capitalize on opponent’s mistakes. Shin-Soo Choo’s three-run homer to beat Texas on Thursday was possible only after the Rangers committed a pair of errors in the eighth. Similarly, Teahen’s throwing error in the sixth on Friday allowed three runs to score with two outs.
The White Sox need to get Peavy straightened out – quickly. He was hammered for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start and drags an 8.44 ERA into Saturday. He has spent the last few days working on his location, specifically with the fastball.
There is a lot riding on Peavy, both in expectation and money. If Chicago is to make a legitimate run to the World Series this year, Peavy will have to lead the way.