Showing posts with label Detroit Tigers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit Tigers. Show all posts

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Series Preview. White Sox vs. Red Sox

The Red Sox head to Chicago to take on the White Sox this weekend. The Red Sox are the best team in the American League, but the White Sox are very succesful against Boston, especially at home. In the only series these two teams met, Chicago swept Boston in Boston.

The White Sox are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Red Sox are 7-3 in their last 10. Both teams are relatively hot, which should make this a good series.




Game 1
Tim Wakefield (6-3 5.15 ERA) vs Gavin Floyd (8-9 4.11 ERA)

In his last three starts, Floyd has pitched well. He is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA and 13 Ks. Hopefully he continues to do well.

Wakefield's last three starts aren't bad. He is 2-0 with a 6.50 ERA and 14 Ks. The last time the Sox faced Wakefield they hit well, hopefully the Sox can continue that.

The pitching has been the only reason the Sox have been winning this past week. There's no guarantee that Gavin will pitch well again. The offense needs to step it up in this series. There are Quentin trade talks, but hopefully he stays in Chicago and helps the White Sox win this series.

Game 2
Jon Lester (10-4 3.23 ERA) vs Philip Humber (8-6 3.27 ERA)

Humber hasn't been good lately. In his last three starts he is 1-2 with a 5.51 ERA and 14 Ks.

In Lester's last three starts he is 1-0 with a 0.55 ERA and 16 Ks. Hopefully he doesn't continue to dominate and the Sox offense hits him hard.

This game will be a pitching duel for sure. Humber hasn't been good since the All-Star break, but I think he ends that this weekend. Lester has been good lately and will probably continue the domination especially because the White Sox offense isn't very good. Hopefully the White Sox offense comes out on top of this pitching duel.

Game 3
Andrew Miller (4-1 5.45 ERA) vs Mark Buehrle (8-5 3.22 ERA)

Mark Buehrle's last start was classic Buehrle and hopefully that rolls over into this game. In his last three starts he is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA and 15 Ks. I would love to see the ace continue pitching this way.

Andrew Miller is 1-1 in his last three starts with a 9.00 ERA and 4 Ks. Not good at all and hopefully this an easy game for the White Sox to win.

If Buehrle continues to pitch well and the White Sox offense is able to take advantage of the bad pitcher, they have a good chance to win this game and possibly win the series.

Overall, looking at the pitching match-ups and knowing how good Chicago is against Boston I think the White Sox will win this series. Hopefully Detroit and Cleveland continue to lose and the Sox gain ground in the division this weekend.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Series Recap. Sox take 2/3 from Tigers

This series against the Tigers was viewed as a very important series. The Sox played well all three games. They were very close to getting a sweep.

The first game was a very good game for the Sox. Buehrle was solid, like he always is and the offense preformed well. It was a great start to the series and put the Sox 3.5 back from first place.

The second game was going to be tough. With Justin Verlander on the mound, the Sox had to have very good pitching so that the few runs the Sox did happen to score would win the game. Adam Dunn did hit a home run, but in the end the Sox' effort was enough to win the game. The Sox fell back to being 4.5 games out of first place.

The third game was crucial. This series was a series the Sox needed to win. The De Aza call-up paid off as he hit the home run in the second inning that would win the game. Danks was solid and got his 4th win.

Overall, the series was a good series. The Sox almost swept. After looking good in the Cleveland series, this is a good sign. Hopefully the White Sox can beat the Red Sox in this coming series.