White Sox at Cardinals
Life on the road isn’t for everyone, but the Chicago White Sox don’t seem to mind. Chicago, which won its eighth straight road game on Tuesday, boasts the majors’ best road record at 18-9 heading into Wednesday’s game against the host St. Louis Cardinals. The White Sox have moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central, while St. Louis has lost nine of its last 13 to fall three games out in the NL Central.
The Cardinals have scored six runs and gone 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position over their past four games. Shortstop Rafael Furcal is hitless in his last 15 at-bats. Reliever Marc Rzepczynski gave up a solo homer to Adam Dunn on Tuesday, and he’s allowed 11 runs on 17 hits in his last 11 innings. Of course, he’s not the first to be victimized by Dunn this season. Dunn has five home runs in 10 games this month - including three in his last three games. While his 98 strikeouts lead the majors, Dunn ranks second in the major leagues with 21 homers, nine more than his total from last season.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, CSN (Chicago), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Jake Peavy (6-1, 3.05 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (9-2, 2.66 ERA)
Peavy, who is 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA over five road starts, allowed three runs (two earned) with a season-high five walks over six innings last Thursday against Toronto. He’s 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA in eight career starts against the Cardinals, and he’s 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA lifetime at St. Louis.
Lynn is making his 15th career major league start and his first appearance against the White Sox. He allowed two runs and struck out a career-high 11 over six innings at Houston last Thursday. Opponents are batting just .218 against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. White Sox CF Alex Rios is 18-for-50 (.360) with eight RBIs in his last 12 games.
2. Cardinals LF Matt Holliday went 2-for-4 on Tuesday after missing his past two games with back spasms.
3. Chicago 3B Brent Morel will visit with a back specialist later this week as the team looks to determine the cause of his lingering pain.