MLB ACTION TOP PLAY!!!...Take the WhiteSox to beat Detroit! For the second day in a row we suggest you get on a play early as we believe the line will rise. Detroit sends Dave Mlicki to the hill who is one of the most intriguing stories of 2001. Mlicki is superb on his home turf, gigantic Comerica park. At home, Mlicki holds a 2.33 ERA, however, on the road he performs just the opposite with a 10.38 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched. In those 30.1 innings pitched he's allowed 70 hits/walks for a whip of 2.30 which basically means that's how many men he allows on base per innings. He has given up a hefty 13 homers on the year with 10 of those being on the road, has a 7.06 ERA in May, and in his road starts has given up 5,5,7,4,7, and 7.....Mlicki has faced Detroit 3 times already this season, hasn't won against them and has gone 18 innings, allowing 29 hits/walks to Chicago along with 10 earned runs. 5 of those hits off Mlicki were homers. 2 of Mlicki's 3 starts vs. the Sox were at Detroit this season where he pitches well and he still didn't beat Chicago. Detroit as a team has hit .249 vs. Chicago this season, has a 5.35 team ERA on the road this season, the league hits .289 vs. Tiger pitching when Detroit is on the road, allow a .276 average with men in scoring position, and allow a .270 average with runners on. Cold Tiger hitters over the last 10 days include: Cruz .206, Encarnacion .185, Inge .000, Magee .227, and Palmer .205....On the flip side Chicago has been playing some better ball as of late after slumping for most of the first half of the season. The Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 games at home and are 6-1 in their last 7 games overall. Also make note that Chicago just swept Detroit at Detroit earlier in the week. The Sox send crafty young starter Mark Buehrle to the hill. Buehrle is solid and has pitched well this season especially as of late. He has allowed only 10 earned runs in his last 36.1 innings while allowing only 28 walks/hits and fanning 29! Even better yet, over his last 2 games he's gone 16.1 innings, allowed 6 hits and only 2 earned runs. Very nice! We know the bigs are quite a bit different from the minors but we researched this guy's numbers and were pleased to see that he has excellent control and had gone 15-8 with a 3.11 ERA in his brief stint in the minors. He allowed 233 hits/walks in 217 innings which are some stellar numbers, albeit in the minors. Buehrle has a career home ERA of 3.14 in 28.2 innings. He's coming off a 3 hitter, has a 2.86 ERA in May, a 3.79 ERA on grass in 54 innings, he's got a 3.43 ERA vs. Detroit this season (21 IP), opponents only hit .215 against him, righties only hit him .203, lefties .246, and he only allows a .217 average when he pitches at home. It gets even better though...He only allows a .171 average with runners on and .143 when those runners are in scoring position! Chicago as a team has a 3.80 ERA vs. Detroit in 80 innings this season. Hot Sox hitters over the last 10 days include: Durham .410, Lee .313, Singleton .385, and Valentin .297....Saving best for last, check out the career numbers of these Tiger hitters vs. Buehrle....Clark 1-9, Cedeno 1-9, Cruz 0-10, Easley 2-10, Encarnacion 1-10, and Palmer 1-8...That adds up to 6-56 career. (.107 average)......We like Chicago to beat Detroit!
Good luck!
Good luck!
