Chicago @ Oakland preview
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2010 ) Chi. White Sox 0, Oakland 3
On paper, Tuesday looks like a very good day for Trevor Cahill.
Cahill toes the mound on Tuesday night in search of his 17th win as the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox continue their three-game series at Oakland Coliseum.
Oakland recorded a 3-0 triumph on Monday for its American League-leading 15th shutout of the season and kept the Texas Rangers’ magic number at six for clinching the AL West title.
Cahill, who is 0-1 in four career starts against Chicago, is catching the White Sox at a perfect time. They have lost seven straight and the magic number for the Minnesota Twins to clinch the AL Central is two. The clubs were tied for the lead on Aug. 11.
Trying to become the club’s first 17-game winner since Mark Mulder six years ago, Cahill (16-7, 2.84 ERA) has another advantage Tuesday. The All-Star has been dominant at the Coliseum, going 10-2 with a 1.58 ERA this season.
After finishing second in the American League in losses in 2009 and going winless in April this season, the 22-year-old has caught fire. He ranks sixth in the league in wins and leads it in hits/per nine innings (6.7) and opponents average against (.210).
The sixth youngest pitcher in the American League lost his last time out. The right-hander yielded six runs and six hits in five innings en route to a 6-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
He had not allowed an earned run in six of his previous nine outings.
Still another trend in Cahill’s favor is that White Sox starter Mark Buehrle (12-11, 4.16 ERA) hasn’t had much luck in this ballpark.
Buehrle is 1-6 all-time with a 4.23 ERA in 13 games – 11 starts – in Oakland. However, the left-hander - who threw the 19th perfect game in major league history last season - picked up his only win here this season. He pitched a complete-game four-hitter in a 5-1 triumph on July 23.
In his last start, the 31-year-old allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings in an 8-5 loss to the Twins on Thursday. The 31-year-old hasn’t won since Aug. 19, going 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA over that stretch.
The Chicago rotation has struggled down the stretch as well, going 0-9 with a 7.12 ERA in its last 15 starts,
Oakland leads the season series, 4-3, and has won three of four overall.