Indians at White Sox
The surging Chicago White Sox have crept to within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Cleveland Indians in the American League Central after scoring 23 runs in winning the first two games of this weekend’s series. Chicago followed up Friday’s 9-3 victory by pounding Cleveland pitchers for 17 hits in a 14-7 rout Saturday. Dayan Viciedo homered and drove in five runs for the White Sox, giving him seven round-trippers and 18 RBIs in his last 12 games.
Chicago has won seven of its 11 meetings with Cleveland this season, including the last four. The White Sox have been led by Paul Konerko, who owns a 12-game hitting streak and leads the major leagues with a .396 batting average after going 4-for-4 on Saturday. The Indians have been hampered by some recent injuries, with Travis Hafner nursing an inflamed right knee and Carlos Santana (concussion) and Asdrubal Cabrera (hamstring) both leaving Friday’s game and sitting out Saturday.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), CS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Ubaldo Jimenez (5-3, 5.02 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Gavin Floyd (3-5, 4.66)
Jimenez has been wildly inconsistent this season, allowing 18 runs over 15 innings in his three losses but delivering five quality starts, including wins in three of his last four outings. He has not fared well on the road (2-2, 7.65), and he has given up more walks (38) than any pitcher in baseball. Jimenez gave up seven runs, four earned, in a loss at Chicago on May 1.
Floyd had been pitching extremely well before hitting a wall in the last couple of weeks, getting hammered for 16 earned runs and 19 hits over 9 2/3 innings in his last two starts. He failed to make it out of the fourth inning in his last outing, a 9-2 loss to Minnesota on May 22 (3 2/3 innings, eight hits, nine runs). Floyd is 6-4 with a 4.42 ERA in 13 career starts against the Indians.
WALK-OFFS
1. The White Sox have won eight of their last nine games overall and five of six against right-handed starters.
2. Cleveland's Johnny Damon (12-for-22, homer, four RBIs, four walks) and Shin-Soo Choo (8-for-19, homer, nine RBIs, four walks) have fared quite well in the past against Floyd.
3. Jimenez is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in five career starts against the White Sox. Chicago hitters are batting only .239 against him, with Alex Rios (0-for-11) and Adam Dunn (5-for-25, 13 strikeouts) faring the worst.