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Chicago White Sox may have the best record in the American League's Central Division, but that distinction sure hasn't come from playing well away from home.
The Pale Hose hope to put an end to a frustrating nine-game road losing streak when they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the first of three straight interleague meetings.
Chicago heads west after enduring a three-game sweep by the intercity-rival Cubs at Wrigley Field over the weekend, culminating with Sunday's 7-1 defeat. Ryan Dempster delivered eight strong innings on the mound for the South Siders, while Aramis Ramirez belted his fourth home run in three games to lead the Cubs offense.
Ramirez and Eric Patterson each went deep off Javier Vazquez (7-6), who was touched for five runs (4 earned) and issued five walks over six innings to receive the loss.
The White Sox managed 10 hits on the day, including two each by Orlando Cabrera and Dewayne Wise, but manufactured its only run on a seventh-inning single from Joe Crede.
Chicago slipped to 17-23 on the road with Sunday's setback and has seen its once-comfortable lead over the hard-charging Minnesota Twins shrink to 1 1/2 games. The White Sox haven't recorded an away win since a 5-1 decision over Tampa Bay on May 29.
The struggling club will be sending out a pitcher who's being going well lately in tonight's opener. Mark Buehrle has worked eight innings in each of his last three starts and yielded a total of just four runs during that span. Over his last four mound trips, the steady southpaw is 2-0 with a 2.10 earned run average.
Buehrle is coming off Wednesday's home victory over Pittsburgh in which he held the Pirates to two runs and just four hits in eight frames. Six days earlier, he surrendered one run on seven hits in an eight-inning no-decision at Detroit.
The three-time All-Star is 1-1 in two career starts against Los Angeles, although he has permitted only two runs in 15 innings over those games. In his lone lifetime start at Dodger Stadium, Buehrle threw six innings of two-run ball but wound up on the short end of a 2-1 decision on June 6, 2003.
He will be opposing a Los Angeles squad that has won four of its last six tilts following a five-game losing streak. The Dodgers did drop consecutive home matchups to Cleveland on Friday and Saturday before rebounding for a 4-3 victory in Sunday's series finale.
Los Angeles scored four times in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Russell Martin and a double from James Loney which brought home two more runners.
That was enough for Chad Billingsley (6-7), who threw the first five innings for the Dodgers and allowed three runs on eight hits. Four LA relievers combined to hold the Indians scoreless the rest of the way, with Takashi Saito picking up his 11th save by tossing a shutout ninth.
Derek Lowe gets the call for the Dodgers tonight and will be attempting to continue a strong string of starts. The veteran righty is 3-1 with an excellent 1.83 ERA over his last five outings and has pitched seven innings or more in five of his six most recent appearances.
Lowe defeated Cincinnati on Wednesday after giving up just one run on three hits while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings.
The 34-year-old owns a solid 4-2 record with a 3.11 earned run average in seven Dodger Stadium starts this year. For his career, Lowe is 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA and five saves over 22 games (5 starts) against the White Sox.
Lowe will have to face one of the game's hottest hitters in this series in Chicago's Jermaine Dye. The power-hitting right fielder has six home runs and 15 RBI over his last seven games and is batting .444 (12-for-27) during his tear.
The White Sox have won five of their six lifetime meetings with the Dodgers, having swept a three-game set in Chicago back in 2005 and taking two of three encounters at Chavez Ravine in 2003.
