Your Chicago White Sox take on the Minnesota Twins in the rubber match of the current 3-game series this afternoon at 12:10 PM CST.
It’ll be Jake Peavy (8-7, 3.15 ERA) against Scott Diamond (9-4, 2.88 ERA) following the act of the two dramatic games that started off the series, as both came down to the the 9th inning.
In the first game, defense troubled the Sox as Jamey Carroll walked it off with an RBI-sac fly, and A.J. Pierzynski’s 2-run home run in the top of the 9th gave the Sox the edge to win 4-3 behind Francisco Liriano, who tossed a quality start in his first start for the White Sox last night.
It’s been A.J. to the rescue of late. Credit: BeaumontEnterprise.com
It’s safe to bet on a low scoring game in this one today, as Peavy has not gotten touched up too often this year and Scott Diamond is coming off of a complete game 3-hit shutout against the Indians. Diamond’s only start against the Sox this year came on May 23rd, as he suffered the loss despite only letting up 2 ER through 6 IP.
On June 25 the Twins beat Jake Peavy, scoring 3 runs in 6 innings off of him, but the “Jakemeister” defeated the Twins last week with a strong performance (6 IP, 1 ER). So again, all signs point toward this one being a pitcher’s duel.
With the Sox leading the Tigers by 2.5 games in the division entering Wednesday, a series win on the road would certainly give the Sox a lot of confidence & momentum as they head home for a much needed homestand. Rubber matches always seem to have a good deal of significance to them, and this should be no exception given it’s between hated rivals.
And, in case you forgot, Comcast SportsNet picking up the audio of A.J. Pierzynski saying “get that piece of s**t” in reference to Nick Blackburn after being hit by a pitch and coming around to score last night reminds you just how hated this rivalry can get.
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Posted by GSB! Founder & Managing Editor, Zach Gropper. Go, Go White Sox!