Currently: - Game info: 7:35 pm EDT Fri Jul 29, 2005
- TV: WCIU, WNUV
The Chicago White Sox are not playing like the best team in baseball.
They’ll try to snap out of their recent funk when they start a four-game series with the fading Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
Chicago has lost six of its last nine games, including two in a row to the last-place Kansas City Royals. The White Sox committed five errors in the two losses, including two in a 6-5 defeat in 13 innings Wednesday.
“We played poor defense all week,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen lamented.
The White Sox blew a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning in Wednesday’s defeat. The poor defense cost starter Jon Garland, who yielded three runs—one earned—and five hits over seven-plus innings.
“We’ve been playing good defense all year long,” Garland said. “People thought we were playing out of our minds, but it happens to the best of us. Hopefully, we can bounce back after the day off.”
Chicago’s Jermaine Dye enters after a big series in Kansas City. Dye hit .400 (6-for-15) in the three games with seven RBIs and belted his first homer since July 5 on Wednesday.
It was Dye’s first action since missing four games due to a leg infection from spider bites suffered during Chicago’s trip to Cleveland from July 14-17.
Baltimore starter Erik Bedard looks to bounce back after having his five-game winning streak snapped Sunday at Tampa Bay. Bedard surrendered three runs and nine hits over 6 1-3 innings in a 6-2 loss.
The 26-year-old left-hander had been 5-0 with an 0.72 ERA over his previous seven outings. Bedard yielded two runs and five hits over seven innings in a 6-2 win at Chicago on May 15.
The Orioles continued their woes, losing for the eighth time in nine games with a 2-1 setback to Texas on Thursday. The loss may have been even more costly because Baltimore starter Sidney Ponson left in the third inning with a bruised right thumb after being struck by a line drive.
Chicago has won 24 of the last 40 meetings with Baltimore. The teams split a four-game series at U.S. Cellular Field from May 12-15.
South Side Sox
Camden Chat
