Chris Sale Looking to Prove He’s a Big Game Pitcher – Lineups 9/29

Baseball fans outside of Detroit will all be able to appreciate if today is not Chris Sale’s final start of the season. Sox fans are begging for it not to be. Fortunately the man in a position to perpetuate the season is the man with the best tools to achieve. It’s been an amazing season for Sale, his first as a starter, and his final regular season start is upon us. After a bit of back and forth shuffling, Sale will be making this one on regular rest and with some help, could push the Sox back into first. On Monday he pitched against the Indians and pitched decently, though not to what we’ve come to expect. He kept the team in it long enough for Adam Dunn to flash some heroics and pull out the only win of the series.

Matt Moore is guardian of the Rays very slim postseason chances. Moore hasn’t been terrible effective this season, despite an occasional shining start. Like Hellickson before him, Moore has trouble keeping his pitch count down and has a tendency to exit games early. Of his last 3 starts none of them made it into the 5th inning. Getting Moore out of the game is step one, and step two would be figuring out how to get the job done against the Rays bullpen, who finished out the game last night without allowing any runs, and only one hit.

Today’s Lineup:

1.De Aza – CF
2.Youkilis – 3B
3.Dunn – 1B
4.Konerko – DH
5.Rios – RF
6.Dayan – LF
7.Alexei – SS
8.Flowers – C
9.Gordo – 2B

Despite the win last night, the White Sox weren’t amazing anybody with offensive prowess. What would be nice to see, is a nice offensive explosion. One that instills confidence and shows that they still have the bats that carried them this far into the season.

Where to Watch
Game available in select markets on Fox.