Chicago White Sox (44-48) at Detroit Tigers (49-43)
Probable Pitchers:
Friday June 15, 7:05p:
RHP Gavin Floyd (6-9, 4.59, 80 K, 30 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Ryan Raburn (12 for 29, 2 2B, 3 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Austin Jackson (0 for 6, 4 K)
at
RHP Justin Verlander (12-4, 2.15, 147 K, 31 BB)
Hitter to Fear: A.J. Pierzynski (17 for 56, 4 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Paul Konerko (5 for 41, 12 K)
Saturday June 16, 4:10p:
RHP Edwin Jackson (5-7, 4.30, 92 K, 34 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Don Kelly (6 for 15, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Brandon Inge (6 for 26, 9 K)
at
RHP Max Scherzer (10-4, 4.69, 96 K, 38 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Juan Pierre (6 for 18, 2 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Alex Rios (0 for 6, 3 K)
Sunday June 17, 1:05p:
RHP Jake Peavy (4-3, 5.27, 42 K, 13 K)
Hitter to Fear: Ryan Raburn (1 for 2, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Miguel Cabrera (2 for 23, 10 K)
at
RHP Brad Penny (6-6, 4.50, 47 K, 35 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Carlos Quentin (6 for 14, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Adam Dunn (6 for 35, 19 K)
What to Watch For:
1. Sox pitchers struggling - Gavin Floyd, Edwin Jackson, and Jake Peavy were all happy to see the All-Star break come as they all needed a fresh start. Floyd, who is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA in his last 3 starts, is on a 6-game winless streak. Jackson hasn't pitched awful but has not gotten the run support in the majority of his starts. He has only 1 win since May 28th. Jake Peavy, 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his last 3 starts, has walked 6 and gave up 14 earned runs in his last three.
2. Verlander continues dominance - With notching his 12th win of the season before the All-Star break, he became the first Tigers pitcher to do so since Jack Morris in 1987. He is an incredible 8-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 76 strikeouts in his last 10 starts.
3. Raburn ready to play - With Tigers second baseman Ryan Raburn struggling to find his bat in the first half of the season (.213 BA, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 86 K), he has been known to get it going in the second half. On a good note, he is a career .297 hitter against the Chicago White Sox. In his last game against Chicago, he hit a grand slam off of starter Jake Peavy. Raburn is batting .294 with 5 RBI's in his last 10 games.
On Deck:
Tigers will have a quick 2-game series at home against the Oakland Athletics starting on Tuesday. Then it's off to an important 4-game series in Minnesota.