Currently: Chicago White Sox starter Mark Buehrle stumbled into the All-Star break.
Now, he’ll look to put a pair of tough outings behind him Saturday when the White Sox continue their three-game series with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Buehrle (9-6, 4.02 ERA) allowed five runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 7-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on July 7. He was coming off a disastrous 15-11 loss against the Chicago Cubs on July 2 in which he allowed a career-high 11 runs and 13 hits in five innings.
Both of those starts came after White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen selected him for the AL All-Star team over a number of other pitchers that some said were more deserving. Buehrle did not pitch in Wednesday’s game.
“I pitched pretty bad in the last two outings and haven’t helped him for making that decision,” Buehrle said. “It’s frustrating.”
Last season, Buehrle started the All-Star game after going 10-3 with a 2.58 ERA in the first half of the season. He went 6-5 with a 3.84 ERA after the break, and is 41-28 with a 3.73 ERA lifetime in the second half.
“You separate the kids from the men in the second half,” Guillen said. “Buehrle was there for us last year and I think he will be there for us this year.”
If history is any indication, Buehrle could have a tough time bouncing back against the Yankees. He is 1-3 in five career starts against them, and his 4.99 ERA against them is his worst versus any AL team.
However, his only victory against New York came in his only start at Yankee Stadium, where he gave up two unearned runs in eight innings of a 7-3 victory on April 10, 2004.
The White Sox (57-32) lost for the third time in four games Friday, falling 6-5 to the Yankees. Joe Crede homered for Chicago, but Jose Contreras’ franchise-record 17-decision winning streak came to an end.
The White Sox fell 3 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers, who beat Kansas City 10-9 on Friday. Crede was hit on his calf by a pitch in the seventh and removed an inning later. Guillen said the third baseman will most likely sit out this game.
The Yankees (51-36) won for the fifth time in six games. Melky Cabrera hit a go-ahead RBI single in New York’s three-run eighth inning, and Aaron Guiel homered for the Yankees, who moved within 1 1/2 games of first-place Boston, which lost Friday to Oakland, in the AL East.
Manager Joe Torre picked up his 1,927th win as a manager to pass Casey Stengel for 10th place on baseball’s career list.
Mike Mussina (10-3, 3.24) will take the mound for the Yankees on Saturday. He allowed three runs and five hits—including two homers—in six innings of an 11-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on July 5.
Mussina has given up just four runs in 17 innings in his last three starts, going 2-0 over that span.
He had thrown four hitless innings in his previous outing, but left after a rain delay because of a slight strain in his groin. However, the injury did not cause him any problems against the Indians as he became the 12th pitcher in major league history to win 10 games in 15 straight seasons.
Of the other 11 pitchers to accomplish the feat, nine are in the Hall of Fame, with the exceptions being Jim Kaat and 300-game winner Greg Maddux, who is still active.
Mussina is 14-14 with a 4.64 ERA—his second-worst ERA against any AL team — in 32 career starts against the White Sox.
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