Detroit @ Chicago preview
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Last Meeting ( Aug 5, 2010 ) Chi. White Sox 6, Detroit 4
No longer in first place after a tight battle with the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox get to lick their wounds against a team falling farther and farther away.
The White Sox will be looking to put the Detroit Tigers out of their misery when the teams open up a three-game series on Friday.
Chicago dropped one game behind the Twins in the American League Central after dropping the rubber match of their three-game series 6-1 on Thursday. The White Sox could not solve Francisco Liriano in that contest, managing to push across only one run despite knocking out seven hits.
The pitching wasn’t much better as Gavin Floyd allowed all six runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. The one bright spot was rookie Chris Sale, who pitched 1 1/3 innings on Thursday and has yet to allow a run in three appearances since being recalled last week.
With another three-game series scheduled against Minnesota next week, Chicago is hoping to make up some ground against the once-mighty Tigers.
After hanging around the top of the division for much of the first half, Detroit has dropped 13 of its last 17 games to fall 9 ½ games out of the division, virtually ending its hopes of a postseason berth.
While Miguel Cabrera continues to post MVP-like numbers, the rest of the offense has fallen apart since Magglio Ordonez went on the disabled list July 25 with a fractured right ankle.
Rookie Brennan Boesch looked like a lock for the Rookie of the Year award in mid-July when he was hitting .345 with an on-base percentage of .402 and a .600 slugging mark, but he has put up just a .144/.224/.221 line since.
Mark Buehrle will get the ball today for the White Sox. The veteran left-hander has been his usual solid self all season, using his pinpoint command to induce ground balls.
Those balls found some holes last time out, however, as Buehrle surrendered four runs - three earned - and 10 hits in seven innings to suffer a loss at Baltimore. He has gone at least seven innings in six of his last seven outings.
Buehrle was sharp at Detroit on Aug. 3, allowing two runs on seven hits in 7 2/3 innings to earn a win. In his career, Buehrle owns a 15-8 record with a 2.97 ERA - his best mark against any AL Central team – v. the Tigers in 29 games.
Detroit will counter with Jeremy Bonderman. The veteran right-hander has not had a very good couple of months, posting a 6.50 ERA with a .309 batting average against in his last eight starts. The one highlight of that stretch, however, came against Chicago, when Bonderman held the division rivals to one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out five to earn a win.
Bonderman has not always been so strong against the White Sox, owning a 6-10 career record with a 4.56 ERA in 17 starts.