Kansas City @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 9, 2010 ) Kansas City 2, Chi. White Sox 8

The Chicago White Sox took some bad news in stride on Friday and continued their recent hot streak.

Looking for yet another well-pitched contest, the White Sox will put their six-game winning streak on the line when they host the Kansas City Royals in the second of a three-game series on Saturday.

The White Sox posted an 8-2 triumph in the series opener on Friday on the strength of two home runs by A.J. Pierzynski and seven shutout innings by starter Mark Buehrle. The victory came on a day when the White Sox learned they had lost starter Jake Peavy.

Winners of 23 of its last 28 games, Chicago will be without Peavy for the rest of the season. The winner of the National League Cy Young Award in 2007, Peavy was injured on Tuesday while pitching against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Peavy will have surgery next week to repair a detached muscle behind his right shoulder and hopes to be back sometime near the start of next season.

While the loss of Peavy will hurt, it appears that some of the other Chicago starters are ready to raise their games.

Buehrle has now won five of his last six starts and his stellar outing on Friday came on the heels of John Danks' two-hit shutout on Thursday against the Angels.

A half-game behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, the White Sox look to Gavin Floyd to keep their hot streak going.

Floyd (4-7, 4.43 ERA) has won his last two starts and has not lost since June 13. To maintain his recent success, he will have to find a way to stop the Royals for a change.

Floyd is 2-7 with a 5.23 ERA in 11 games against Kansas City, including 10 starts. Floyd has been pitching well of late, allowing one run or less in five of his last six starts.

Kansas City counters with Brian Bannister (7-6, 5.44 ERA), who is 4-6 with a bloated ERA of 7.97 in 15 career starts against Chicago. He is 1-3 in his last five starts and has allowed at least four runs in four of them.

If Bannister is to turn things around, he will have to cool off one of the hottest teams in baseball at the moment and find a way to pitch well under the lights.

Bannister is 4-0 in six day starts with a 2.37 ERA, but when the sun goes down, so does his effectiveness. In 11 night starts, Bannister is 3-6 with a 7.45 ERA.