Win streak? Win streak. Three wins in a row is pretty nice. Four would be better. The White Sox aren’t living up to modest expectations and the Blue Jays aren’t living up to high expectations. These teams, they know each other. They know what it’s like to lose a lot of games and have people wonder just what in the bloody hell is going on. The biggest thing wrong with the Blue Jays is their pitching. Of the guys getting all their starts, none of them are doing well. J.A. Happ is the only starter with an ERA south of 5.00, and he’s a bad start away from losing his grip on that comfy 4.91 of his. The Sox aren’t facing Happ though. They’re not facing anybody that’s made a start for the Blue Jays this year. In fact, Chien-Ming Wang hasn’t started a game since September of 2012 when he was with the Nationals. So yeah, he’s a little rusty. For a truly effective Wang start you’d have to go back even a year further, to 2011 when he went 6 innings against the Braves at Nationals Park. Thanks, schedule. Thank you very much.
Jose Quintana certainly isn’t rusty, he’s made his fair share of starts, a baker’s dozen after today. He went along pretty well in his last go against the A’s, getting picket fenced to death as Oakland put up a run in innings 4, 5, 6, and 7, which was enough to force the Sox into extras where they would ultimately lose. Quintana’s third start of the season came in Toronto where he didn’t allow a single run over the course of 6.2 innings pitched. Things were much cheerier back then in Soxville. Much cheerier indeed.
Today’s Lineup:
1.De Aza – CF
2.Alexei – SS
3.Rios – RF
4.Konerko – DH
5.Dunn – 1B
6.Viciedo – LF
7.Gillaspie – 3B
8.Beckham – 2B
9.Flowers – C
Adam Dunn is riding high coming off of a 4-4 game last night. The fog suits him! He’s also 7 for his last 11 and has pushed his batting average aaaall the way up to .181. He keeps this up and he’ll be sitting pretty at a mediocre production level in no time. He’s all 1 for 2 with a HR against Wang lifetime and who needs sample size or date parameters?
Toronto Blue Jays Lineup:
1.Melky Cabrera – LF
2.Jose Bautista – RF
3.Edwin Encarnacion – DH
4.Mark DeRosa – 3B
5.Rajai Davis – CF
6.Adam Lind – 1B
7.J.P. Arencibia – C
8.Maicer Izturis – 2B
9.Munenori Kawasaki – SS
Not only has Mark DeRosa played in 37 games this year but he’s productive! He’s getting on base at a .330 clip which outpaces any White Sox regular not named Alex Rios. Well, Gordo is up there but he’s also only played in 15 games so far.
Where to Watch
Today’s game will be broadcast on CSN and SNET. 7:10 Central start time.