Tune in at 8:15 PM ET as the White Sox take on the Cardinals. Matthias Koster will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
CHI
De Aza
Beckham
Dunn
Konerko
Rios
Pierzynski
Ramirez
Hudson
Floyd
STL
Furcal
Descalso
Holliday
Craig
Freese
Molina
Adams
Chambers
Westbrook
STL is a slight fav at -118. The over/under is set at 8.5 runs
CHI is the MLB's best road team, with a 18-10 record. STL is 15-14 at home this season
Both starters have been shelled of late. Can either get back on track tonight?
And here we go. Westbrook is on the hill. De Aza, a longtime minor leaguer finally getting an opportunity, bring his .300+ batting average to the plate
Westbrook lives and dies with his sinker. When it's on he can be serviceable. When it's off he leaves it up and issues too many walks
Sinker stays up and away. But De Aza tries to pull it, ultimately hitting a hard groundout to 2nd baseman Descalso
I should mention that Descalso is at 2B, Craig is in RF. Everyone else is in their expected positions
Beltran is available off the bench tonight. He's fighting a bout of food poisoning
Beckham gets under a sinker, hits a high flyout to mid-CF, caught by Chambers. Two down, Adam Dunn coming up
Dunn groundsout into an exaggerated shift to end the inning. 1-2-3 for Jake Westbrook.
I should mention that Dunn is playing LF tonight, which should be interesting.
Gavin Floyd has allowed at least 4 ER in his last 5 starts. Furcal leads off for STL
@Regia Sjahas Guys like him seem to run hot and cold. A similar batter, Jim Thome, can be the same way. He'll struggle for a week and then hit 5 HR in 7 games the next week
Furcal with a terrible swing, just a wave at a curve in the dirt, ends up striking out.
One down, Descalso is coming up. His positional flexibility is a great asset for STL
Two pitch AB, a high fly out to LF. Dunn slowly jogs in and makes the catch. Two down, Holliday coming up
Holliday grounds out to third to end the inning. 1-2-3 for Floyd
@Regia Sjahas I'm more of a player fan. As for teams I like Toronto, Cleveland, San Diego
Konerko leads off, grounds out to third on the1st pitch of his AB. That's 4 in a row set down by Westbrook. One down, Alex Rios up
Rios is having a decent year, with an OPS near .800. He'll never live up to previous expectations but after last season I'm sure the Soxs are happy with Rios Version 2012
Well, not during this AB, as he grounds out to SS Furcal. Another easy out for Westbrook. Two down, Pierzynski up. To make my life easier, he'll be referred to as AJP for the rest of the game
And AJP ends the inning with a quick two pitch groundout. Very easy inning for Westbrook, 3 easy groundouts. Heading to bottom 2nd
Allen Craig leading off. He's been batting in front of Freese of late
Craig hits the 1st pitch into the right-center gap. He's safe with a leadoff double
The pitch was a high, flat fastball away at 91 MPH. He had no trouble with it. None out, Freese coming up, hoping at minimum to move Craig over
Another gapper, in almost the exact same location. This equals another stand-up double. Craig scores, STL up 1-0
Freese on 2nd base, 1-0 STL, none out, Molina up
1st pitch slow groundball past the mound, fielded by SS Ramirez. His only play is to first for the out. This allows Freese to advance to third
Freese at 3rd base, Matt Adams coming up with 1 out. Adams has been struggling of late
Adams strikes out, chasing a low slider in the dirt. Two down, Chambers coming up with pitcher Westbrook on deck
CHI will walk Chambers intentionally to face Westbrook
Westbrook will bat with runners on the corners and 2 outs
2-0 to Westbrook. Things are getting interesting...
High fastball and it's 3-0!
Two FB cross the zone for strikes. Count is now full to Westbrook
Westbrook walks, watching a low sinker out of the zone
Bases are LOADED, two outs and Furcal coming up.
Furcal down 0-2 in his count
Slow chopper to 2nd. Beckham fields and makes a WIDE throw. Konerko saves the day, extending while staying on the bag, making the catch to end the inning
STL strands the bases loaded. However, they do take the lead via the Freese RBI double
