Seattle @ Chicago preview
Guaranteed Rate Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 24, 2010 ) Seattle 4, Chi. White Sox 5
A couple of days ago, the Chicago White Sox couldn't do anything right.
Pitching. Hitting. Defense. The White Sox looked like a team that couldn't beat anybody.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners hit town on a three-game winning streak and were looking to continue that momentum against a struggling team.
Thanks to back-to-back walk-off home runs, all that has changed. Chicago will try for its first sweep of the season in the finale of a three-game series today against Seattle.
Alex Rios' two-run homer off David Aardsma in the ninth inning gave the White Sox a 5-4 win Saturday. Less than 24 hours earlier, Andruw Jones' solo homer in the ninth off Mark Lowe produced a 7-6 win.
Both teams have made comebacks in the series. Seattle’s Jose Lopez hit a grand slam in the seventh to wipe out a 5-2 deficit Friday night, but the White Sox tied the game in the bottom of the inning and won it on Jones' home run.
Casey Kotchman's ground-rule double scored two runs and broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth Saturday, but Chicago scored three times to pull out the win.
And now, for one of the few times this season, it's the White Sox who have some momentum. Saturday's victory marked only the second time Chicago has won back-to-back games this season.
Both of today's starting pitchers are coming off strong outings. John Danks held Tampa Bay to one run and two hits while striking out nine in eight innings in his last start on Tuesday. The left-hander has been dominant lately, allowing two earned and four hits over 15 innings in his last two starts.
Jason Vargas stopped Baltimore in his last start. The left-hander gave up one run and three hits in seven innings. Vargas has shown improvement from start to start in all three of his outings.
The Mariners could again be without shortstop Jack Wilson and left fielder Milton Bradley. Wilson left Friday night's game after taking a ground ball off his right thumb and didn't start Saturday. He was used as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning. Bradley's much-anticipated return to Chicago has yet to happen because of a calf injury.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen didn't get to see Saturday's comeback. He was ejected in the top of the ninth by for arguing a ruling that allowed a second run to score on Kotchman's double.