Baltimore @ Chicago preview
Guaranteed Rate Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 24, 2010 ) Baltimore 5, Chi. White Sox 7
The Chicago White Sox haven't had much to be happy about lately.
A 5-11 skid sent them from 1 1/2 games in front of Minnesota to five games back of the Twins in the American League Central. The slide caused panic to set in on the south side of Chicago as many observers thought the White Sox were close to being done in the race for the division title.
The last two days have shown, however, that all is not lost for manager Ozzie Guillen and his team. While the White Sox were idle on Monday, the Twins fell by a 4-0 score in Texas, allowing Chicago to gain a half-game in the standings.
The news got even better on Tuesday night. The White Sox rallied for a 7-5 win over Baltimore while the Twins dropped their second straight to the Rangers 4-3.
The White Sox head into tonight's contest trailing the Twins by 3 1/2 games and send their hottest pitcher to the mound in the second of a three-game series.
Mark Buehrle came through in what might have been Chicago's biggest game of the season in his last start against Minnesota. Following losses in the first two games of the series last week at Target Field, Buehrle dominated the Twins. He pitched seven shutout innings in a game that kept the White Sox from being completely buried in the race.
After struggling for a good portion of the season, Buehrle has pitched much better lately. He's 4-1 in his last six starts and has pitched into the seventh inning five times during that stretch. His only loss came at Camden Yards on Aug. 8. Buehrle allowed four runs (three earned) and 10 hits in seven innings. He also gave up a home run to Felix Pie.
Brian Matusz is coming off one of the best outings of his career, and it was against one of the best-hitting teams in baseball. He blanked Texas over eight innings and held the Rangers to five hits.
The left-hander has pitched well in three of his last four starts, including a no-decision against Chicago on Aug. 9, when he allowed one run and three hits in six innings.
The Orioles are 12-9 since Buck Showalter took over as manager on Aug. 3. Although they still have the league's worst record, the Orioles have played well against good teams and are showing some fight that they didn't exhibit earlier in the season.
Trailing 7-2 going into the ninth Tuesday, the Orioles battled back on RBI singles by Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis. Baltimore added another run but Bobby Jenks closed out the rally for his 24th save.