Chicago @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( May 2, 2011 ) Baltimore 2, Chi. White Sox 6
THE STORY: Fresh off a three-game sweep of division rival Minnesota, the Chicago White Sox look to continue their climb back into the American League Central race when they begin a four-game series at Baltimore on Monday evening. Chicago capped off a perfect weekend with a 7-0 victory Sunday behind eight shutout innings from Jake Peavy. The Orioles own the worst record in the American League and sit 25 games off the AL East lead.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports (Chicago), MASN 2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH John Danks (4-9, 3.90 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Jeremy Guthrie (5-15, 4.34 ERA).
Guthrie hasn't gotten much help this year – only seven American League starters get lower run support – but he had been pitching reasonably well before a seventh-inning implosion doomed him to a loss at Kansas City in his last start. Before that frame, Guthrie had given up nine runs in 27 innings and won two of his last three starts, one of his stronger stretches since an outstanding April that saw him post a 2.53 ERA. He took a loss at Chicago on May 2, allowing four runs in seven innings of work.
Danks hadn't lost in more than two months before his last start, when he gave up four runs over six innings in a setback against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Prior to that defeat, Danks had allowed just six runs (four earned) over 36 2/3 innings through June and July – an astonishing 0.98 ERA. The lefthander is 4-3 with a 4.13 ERA in eight career starts against the Orioles. Baltimore DH Vladimir Guerrero is just 4-for-24 against Danks, but two of the hits were home runs.
ABOUT THE WHITE SOX (55-58): Chicago has gotten an outstanding season from All-Star 1B Paul Konerko, who leads the club with a .306 batting average, 26 home runs and 79 RBIs, but the rest of what was expected to be a potent lineup has struggled. CF Alex Rios is batting just .215 and DH Adam Dunn is on track for one of the worst hitting seasons in history, logging a putrid .163 average and striking out 142 times in 331 at-bats. The White Sox have scored just 446 runs, a figure that ranks 11th in the American League.
ABOUT THE ORIOLES (44-67): Baltimore had shown signs of promise early in the season, getting off to an even 24-24 start before the bottom fell out. A major problem has been the demise of a young pitching staff – rookie LHP Zach Britton was 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA in April, but he failed to even survive the first inning in consecutive July starts at Boston and New York, yielding 17 runs (13 earned) while retiring just three hitters. The Orioles rank last in the major leagues in ERA (4.83), opponent batting average (.280) and WHIP (1.47), and the rotation has delivered just 45 quality starts in 110 games.
FINAL PITCH: Baltimore and Chicago rank second and third from the bottom of the American League with 44 and 52 stolen bases, respectively. The White Sox have been caught 39 times in 91 tries, easily the worst success rate in baseball.