Chicago White Sox (15-17) at Cleveland Indians (12-22), 12:05 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Chicago - Mark Buehrle (5-0, 2.61) Cleveland - Cliff Lee (1-5, 3.45)
Cleveland's Cliff Lee would be off to a much better start with better run support. Kind of like the one Chicago's Mark Buehrle has put together.
The two southpaws square off this afternoon in the finale of a three-game set between the Indians and White Sox at Progressive Field.
Lee went 22-3 last year and posted a 2.54 earned run average on the way to winning the American League's Cy Young Award, but despite a 3.45 ERA in seven starts this year, he is just 1-5. Since a 10-2 win over the Yankees on April 16, he is 0-3 over four starts despite pitching to a 1.74 ERA. Cleveland has plated just two runs over that time.
Lee, who allowed just one run over eight innings of a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday, is 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA in 19 career appearances versus the White Sox. The 30-year-old went 1-0 in two starts against them last year, allowing just a single run over 17 innings.
His counterpart this afternoon, Buehrle, brings a 5-0 mark into today's start, but it isn't all offensive support that is helping the lefty. Buehrle holds a solid 2.61 ERA on the year and carried a perfect game into the seventh inning of a win over Detroit last Thursday. He ended up pitching eight shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks.
Buehrle, who threw a no-hitter on April 18, 2007 versus Texas, has won nine of his last 10 decisions dating back to last year and is off to the first 5-0 start of his career. He is 9-12 with a 4.82 ERA in 33 lifetime games against Cleveland and 5-5 with a 4.37 ERA at Progressive Field.
"I keep on saying that I've pitched well, but going out and getting runs early and often, that always helps a starting pitcher," Buehrle told his team's official site. "I'm fortunate enough to get run support and make those pitches in key situations. I'm getting guys out when I need to get them."
The White Sox plated a pair of runs early in Tuesday's 7-4 victory, getting a two-run homer from former Indian Jim Thome in the first inning. Thome, who is 5-for-24 lifetime versus Lee, ended with a pair of two-run shots.
"You're not going to get hits every time," Thome, who was 3-for-22 going into Tuesday's contest, said. "But I think if your path to the ball is good and you feel good during your at-bats, ultimately that's where you want to be."
Jayson Nix also homered in helping Chicago halt a two-game slide. The White Sox will try to win their first series of May, as they have dropped all three of their previous sets not including a weather-shortened one-gamer with Detroit.
Chicago was without Carlos Quentin on Tuesday after he was scratched from the lineup with a sore left heel. Manager Ozzie Guillen told the White Sox's official site that he plans to sit Quentin, who is hitting .237 with eight homers and 18 RBI, again today, which would give him three straight days of rest due to tomorrow's off day.
Asdrubal Cabrera went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the loss, the Indians' fifth in their last six games. Victor Martinez went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a pair of walks and Grady Sizemore went 1-for-4 to give him just four hits in his last 25 at-bats, dropping his average to .227.
Sizemore is a career .212 hitter (11-for-52) with three homers and six RBI against Buehrle, while Martinez is batting .320 (16-for-50) with a pair of homers and eight RBI versus him.
Chicago won 11 of 18 versus Cleveland last year, but lost five of nine at Progressive Field.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Chicago - Mark Buehrle (5-0, 2.61) Cleveland - Cliff Lee (1-5, 3.45)
Cleveland's Cliff Lee would be off to a much better start with better run support. Kind of like the one Chicago's Mark Buehrle has put together.
The two southpaws square off this afternoon in the finale of a three-game set between the Indians and White Sox at Progressive Field.
Lee went 22-3 last year and posted a 2.54 earned run average on the way to winning the American League's Cy Young Award, but despite a 3.45 ERA in seven starts this year, he is just 1-5. Since a 10-2 win over the Yankees on April 16, he is 0-3 over four starts despite pitching to a 1.74 ERA. Cleveland has plated just two runs over that time.
Lee, who allowed just one run over eight innings of a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday, is 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA in 19 career appearances versus the White Sox. The 30-year-old went 1-0 in two starts against them last year, allowing just a single run over 17 innings.
His counterpart this afternoon, Buehrle, brings a 5-0 mark into today's start, but it isn't all offensive support that is helping the lefty. Buehrle holds a solid 2.61 ERA on the year and carried a perfect game into the seventh inning of a win over Detroit last Thursday. He ended up pitching eight shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks.
Buehrle, who threw a no-hitter on April 18, 2007 versus Texas, has won nine of his last 10 decisions dating back to last year and is off to the first 5-0 start of his career. He is 9-12 with a 4.82 ERA in 33 lifetime games against Cleveland and 5-5 with a 4.37 ERA at Progressive Field.
"I keep on saying that I've pitched well, but going out and getting runs early and often, that always helps a starting pitcher," Buehrle told his team's official site. "I'm fortunate enough to get run support and make those pitches in key situations. I'm getting guys out when I need to get them."
The White Sox plated a pair of runs early in Tuesday's 7-4 victory, getting a two-run homer from former Indian Jim Thome in the first inning. Thome, who is 5-for-24 lifetime versus Lee, ended with a pair of two-run shots.
"You're not going to get hits every time," Thome, who was 3-for-22 going into Tuesday's contest, said. "But I think if your path to the ball is good and you feel good during your at-bats, ultimately that's where you want to be."
Jayson Nix also homered in helping Chicago halt a two-game slide. The White Sox will try to win their first series of May, as they have dropped all three of their previous sets not including a weather-shortened one-gamer with Detroit.
Chicago was without Carlos Quentin on Tuesday after he was scratched from the lineup with a sore left heel. Manager Ozzie Guillen told the White Sox's official site that he plans to sit Quentin, who is hitting .237 with eight homers and 18 RBI, again today, which would give him three straight days of rest due to tomorrow's off day.
Asdrubal Cabrera went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the loss, the Indians' fifth in their last six games. Victor Martinez went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a pair of walks and Grady Sizemore went 1-for-4 to give him just four hits in his last 25 at-bats, dropping his average to .227.
Sizemore is a career .212 hitter (11-for-52) with three homers and six RBI against Buehrle, while Martinez is batting .320 (16-for-50) with a pair of homers and eight RBI versus him.
Chicago won 11 of 18 versus Cleveland last year, but lost five of nine at Progressive Field.
