ChrisSale
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W11 | 15 |
| L3 | 6 |
| G18 | 97 |
| IP117.2 | 212.0 |
| BB29 | 66 |
| SO108 | 219 |
YuDarvish
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W11 | 11 |
| L6 | 6 |
| G18 | 18 |
| IP116.0 | 116.0 |
| BB61 | 61 |
| SO132 | 132 |
While rookie Yu Darvish has impressed at the front end of the Texas Rangers ' rotation, the Chicago White Sox's Chris Sale has also come up big in his first season as a starter.
In a matchup between two of the game's more exciting young pitchers, Darvish takes the hill opposite Sale as the Rangers and visiting White Sox open a three-game set Friday night.
Signed to a $60 million deal during the offseason, not including a $51.7 million posting fee, Darvish (11-6, 3.88 ERA) has more than held his own in the big leagues. The right-hander's 10.24 strikeouts per nine innings rank third in the majors and he leads all AL rookies in wins.
Darvish was at his best Saturday in a 9-2 road win over the Los Angeles Angels , allowing two runs, three hits, four walks and striking out a season high-tying 11 over seven innings.
"He was throwing it by hitters," catcher Yorvit Torrealba told MLB's official website. "His fastball looked so good, we stayed with it. When he can locate his fastball, he can be as good as anybody in the game."
Darvish has never faced Chicago (53-45) but knows he'll have his work cut out against one of the most potent offenses in baseball. The White Sox are fourth in the majors with 120 homers and sixth with 466 runs.
"I'll do my homework before the start," Darvish said. "We'll still go over the hitters in our meetings and watch video."
Sale (11-3, 2.37) will try to slow down the Rangers, who've posted a league-leading 31 home wins. Texas (58-39) most recently took two of three from Boston in Arlington, winning 5-3 on Wednesday.
Sale had gone 8-0 with a 1.61 ERA over a 10-start stretch May 17-July 15 before getting hit hard during Saturday's 7-1 loss at Detroit. The 23-year-old left-hander surrendered a career worst-tying five runs, seven hits and four walks over seven innings, suffering his first loss in nine career road starts.
"He's one of the premier pitchers in the league, an All-Star and all that," said Tigers outfielder Brennan Boesch , who hit a three-run homer off Sale. "His numbers are great. But anyone can get hit."
Sale was sharp in his only career start versus Texas, giving up five hits over 7 1-3 innings of one-run ball during a 19-2 home victory July 3. That was the first win of Chicago's three-game sweep in which it held Texas to seven runs.
After dropping the final five contests on a 10-game road trip, Chicago returned home and completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota with Wednesday's 8-2 win.
"These three games we just played good team baseball," winning pitcher Jake Peavy said. "It's nice to come back after the road trip we had. We had a short homestand, but we played well, got back on track."
If their recent road woes are any indication, the White Sox could be hard-pressed to keep things going as they head out on another six-game trek. Chicago is batting .195 and has been outscored 30-9 during its season-high five-game skid away from home.
"That's just the way it goes," manager Robin Ventura said. "Nobody's really talking about it. You knew it was on the schedule, so we're prepared for it. It's a long stretch of July to be on the road most of the time."
Chicago, though, should receive a boost from catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who's expected to be available after missing the last two games with a mild right oblique strain.
Third baseman Kevin Youkilis is also hoping to play after spraining his right ankle Wednesday.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Elvis Andrus | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Adrian Beltre | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Josh Hamilton | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ian Kinsler | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Mitch Moreland | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| David Murphy | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Yorvit Torrealba | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.000 | 2.000 |
| Michael Young | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Chicago White Sox |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| July 25, 2012 | Kevin Youkilis | Day-to-Day | Left game - sprained left ankle |
| July 24, 2012 | A.J. Pierzynski | Day-to-Day | Strained right oblique |
| July 08, 2012 | Gavin Floyd | 15-Day DL | Right elbow tendinitis |
| July 08, 2012 | Gavin Floyd | 15-Day DL | Right elbow tendinitis |
| June 29, 2012 | Kevin Youkilis | Day-to-Day | Left game - upset stomach |
| June 25, 2012 | Brian Bruney | 15-Day DL | Left hip inflammation |
Texas Rangers |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| July 19, 2012 | Colby Lewis | 15-Day DL | Torn flexor tendon, right elbow |
| July 06, 2012 | Josh Hamilton | Day-to-Day | Left game - Lower back spasms |
| June 26, 2012 | Mark Lowe | 15-Day DL | Strained right intercostal muscle |
| June 24, 2012 | Colby Lewis | 15-Day DL | Right forearm tendinitis |
| June 24, 2012 | Colby Lewis | 15-Day DL | Right forearm tendinitis |
| June 24, 2012 | Matt Harrison | Day-to-Day | Left game - left hip soreness |
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox's hard-hitting offense came through again for Chris Sale .
Alejandro De Aza hit a two-run single before leaving the game after an outfield collision, and the White Sox rallied against Yu Darvish to beat the Texas Rangers 9-5 Friday night for their fourth win in a row.
Sale rebounded from a shaky start to earn his 12th win of the season. The White Sox ace was touched up for four runs in the first inning, including a three-run homer by Nelson Cruz .
Kevin Youkilis and Alexei Ramirez homered for the White Sox, who have scored 35 runs during their winning streak.
The offense also provided overwhelming support for Sale (12-3) on July 3 when the White Sox clobbered the Rangers 19-2.
"Giving up four runs in the first put us in a rough spot," said Sale, who gave up six hits and five runs, and struck out six. "You can't let that get to you. I was fortunate enough to hold them. But these guys won the game tonight."
De Aza had a two-run single in the fourth that gave Chicago the lead for good before he was involved in a scary collision.
In the seventh inning, De Aza and Ramirez ran into each other while chasing a pop fly in shallow center. The trainer examined De Aza's left wrist for several minutes, and De Aza was replaced by Jordan Danks .
De Aza walked off the field, and Ramirez stayed in the game. Ramirez gave the White Sox a 9-5 lead with a two-run homer in the ninth.
Chicago manager Robin Ventura said that De Aza "probably" has a slightly sprained left wrist. De Aza had a bandage on his wrist after the game.
"It's still sore," De Aza said. "I'm moving my hand and it's not bothering me much."
Josh Hamilton 's struggles at the plate continued. The Rangers slugger went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, dropping his average in July to .145. After his strikeouts, he heard rare boos from the home crowd.
Hamilton quickly dressed and didn't answer many questions from reporters after the game.
When asked about being booed, he said, "What have you done for me lately?"
Chicago rallied from a 4-1 deficit against Yu Darvish in a matchup off All-Star pitchers who were lacking their best stuff.
Darvish (11-7) gave up six runs in 6 1-3 innings, losing his second consecutive home start. He yielded eight hits, walked three and struck out six.
Texas scored a run without a hit after Sale left in the seventh. Hamilton had an RBI groundout with the bases loaded to cut Chicago's lead to 6-5.
Matt Thornton walked Adrian Beltre to load the bases again, but he got out of trouble when Michael Young grounded out to end the inning.
Texas' lead in the AL West dropped to four games over the Los Angeles Angels and 4 1-2 over Oakland.
"We had some chances where we didn't come through with base hits," Texas manager Ron Washington said.
Brett Myers and Addison Reed each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game. The White Sox snapped a five-game, road-losing streak and increased their lead in the AL Central to 1 1-2 games over Detroit.
"When we're swinging the bats well, we're as good as anyone," White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn said.
Tyler Flowers singled with one out in the fourth, and Gordon Beckham followed with a double.
De Aza hit a sharp single to right to push Chicago ahead 5-4. The White Sox won their fourth straight over the Rangers.
"To not get down and battle back was important," Beckham said. "It was a good team win."
The teams combined for seven runs in the first two innings.
Alex Rios , who had three RBIs, gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly. He added an RBI grounder in the seventh and a run-scoring double in the ninth.
After Hamilton's sacrifice fly tied the game at 1, Cruz capped Texas' outburst in the first with his 14th home run.
Youkilis hit a two-run shot that traveled an estimated 425 feet to center, cutting Texas' lead to 4-3 in the second.
NOTES: Chicago C A.J. Pierzynski (strained right oblique) missed his third consecutive game. ... Texas 1B Mitch Moreland (strained left hamstring) continued his rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco. He took two days off to be with his wife for the birth of their child on Wednesday. ... Rangers RHP Neftali Feliz , who has missed more than two months with an inflamed right elbow, will make his fourth rehab appearance Sunday for Triple-A Round Rock. Washington said the goal is to have Feliz throw 80 pitches.