Chris Sale’s
mission Friday night is simple as he faces another ace.
“Throw more strikes,” Sale said as he and the White Sox try to beat
Zack Greinke
and the Brewers.
The much-hyped showdown between Sale and the Dodgers’
Clayton Kershaw
failed to live up it its hype, as the Sox scored five runs off Kershaw. And Sale seemed just as agitated by walking a season-high four as blowing a four-run lead.
“You fall behind any lineup, they’re going to hurt you,” said Sale, who escaped with a no decision and carries a five-game winning streak into Friday night’s game. “That was something I didn’t do very well against the Dodgers. I didn’t have command of the strike zone, and I didn’t get quick outs.”
Greinke, the Brewers’ best pitcher, is 7-2 with a 3.10 ERA. But he’s just 6-10 lifetime against the Sox, including a 1-7 record and 6.48 ERA atU.S. Cellular Field.
Futures star:
Switch-hitting third baseman
Carlos Sanchez
will represent the Sox in the 14th annual Futures Game in Kansas City.
Sanchez, 19, is batting .327 with 13 doubles, three triples, one home run, 41 runs and 11 stolen bases in 66 games for Class A Winston-Salem. Sanchez leads the Carolina League with 85 hits and has a .386 on-base percentage.
The Futures Game will be played at Kauffman Stadium on July 8, two days before the All-Star Game.
Mitchell report:
The Sox aren’t discouraged after outfielder
Jared
Mitchell,
their first-round pick in 2009, ended the first half hitless in his last 14 at-bats, lowering his batting average to .265 at Double-A Birmingham. Mitchell, a former two-sport athlete at Louisiana State, missed all of 2010 because of an ankle injury.
“He’s not raw anymore,” said
Buddy Bell,
the Sox’s vice president of player development and special assignments.
“His outfield play is improving, and he’s figuring out how to make adjustments.”
Back to Birmingham:
Left-handed reliever
Santos Rodriguez
was sent from Triple-A Charlotte to Birmingham after two days so he could pitch more innings. Rodriguez had been promoted to Charlotte because the Knights needed relief help after
Brian Bruney
threw five innings Sunday and
Zach
Stewart
was demoted to the Knights after pitching 5 2/3 innings Monday.
