(Sports Network) - The Chicago White Sox have picked the absolute worst time
to play their worst baseball of the season. On Sunday, they try to keep their
American League Central title hopes alive when they play the finale of a four-
game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at U.S. Cellular Field.
Chicago fell two games back of the Detroit Tigers in the division on Saturday
with its ninth loss in 11 games. It won't get any easier for the White Sox On
Sunday, as they go up against AL Cy Young Award candidate David Price, who
will be trying for his 20th win.
"The biggest thing for us right now is winning games," Price said. "If I get
my 20th win, that means that the Rays won and that's the most important
thing."
Price was magnificent on Tuesday in Boston, as he held the Red Sox to two runs
and seven hits and struck out 13 in the complete game effort to improve to
19-5, while lowering his ERA to 2.56.
"That's the best my secondary stuff has ever been," Price said. "That's the
most curveballs I've ever thrown. The most effective my changeup has been.
That makes everything else that much better for me. So if I can go out there
and do some of the things I did against Boston, if I can go out there and go
deep into the game and give us a chance to win."
Price, though, is just 1-4 in five starts versus the White Sox with a 3.66
ERA.
Tampa, meanwhile, kept its postseason hopes alive on Saturday, as Matt Joyce
belted a pair of home runs to back a terrific rebound start from Matt Moore in
the Rays' 10-4 rout of the White Sox.
The win, Tampa Bay's ninth in its last 10 contests, kept the club three games
back of Oakland for one of the American League's two wild card berths with
four remaining. The Athletics rallied for a 7-4, 10-inning win over Seattle on
Saturday.
Moore (11-11) yielded just one hit and two walks over 5 1/3 shutout innings to
end a six-start winless drought. The rookie left-hander had gone 0-4 with a
5.72 earned run average over that stretch and hadn't lasted more than four
innings in any of his last three starts.
"I just think he attacked better, attacked the strike zone better," Maddon
said of Moore. "He had a couple of moments that got away from him, but for the
most part, attacked the strike zone better. Pitched with his fastball mostly
from what I could tell. Was pretty efficient too, got relatively efficient
outs."
Chris Sale (17-8) was tagged for five runs and seven hits while issuing three
walks over just 3 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season. The 17-game
winner, who did strike out seven before exiting, had been 8-0 with a 1.45 ERA
in his last 10 home starts.
"That was a disgrace," Sale said afterward. "For (White Sox manager Robin
Ventura) to say that was terrible was probably putting that lightly. I did
nothing to help the team win, put guys in positions that they shouldn't have
been in."
Hoping for a better effort on Sunday, the White Sox will rely on 23-year-old
left-hander Jose Quintana, who is 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA. Quintana hasn't started
since losing to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sept. 22 when he allowed
four runs (1 earned) and walked five batters in five innings.
Over his last six starts Quintana has pitched to a 6.91 ERA and has a 20-16
strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Quintana was ejected in the fourth inning earlier in the year against the Rays
for throwing behind Ben Zobrist.
Chicago swept an early-season series against the Rays from May 28-30 and has
won seven of the past 12 matchups between the two clubs.
The Sports Network