Greinke hopes to slow down White Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There haven't been many pitchers who have slowed down the Chicago White Sox as of late, but Zack Greinke has shown in the past to be quite capable of such a task.

The Kansas City Royals ace will take the mound in tonight's second test of a four-game series with the visiting White Sox, who will be out to extend their season-best winning streak to seven games.

Chicago maintained its recent high level of play by besting the Royals by a 4-1 count in Thursday's opener of this set. The win was the 13th in the last 17 contests for the White Sox, who have closed within 2 1/2 games of Detroit for first place in the American League Central.

Mark Buehrle (8-2) was the difference for Chicago in last night's triumph, as the steady southpaw took a shutout into the ninth inning and yielded just one run on six hits before exiting after 8 1/3 frames.

"I had everything working," Buehrle said. "I changed my sinker grip in the bullpen. The last two or three games [catcher A.J. Pierzynski] says it's been cutting, but not sinking. So I put my fingers closer together and it was one of the best sinkers I've had in a while."

Jayson Nix went 2-for-4 with a solo home run for the White Sox, while Jim Thome also collected a pair of hits and scored once in the victory.

David DeJesus spoiled Buehrle's shutout bid with a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth. Royals starter Bruce Chen (0-2) worked six solid innings in a losing cause, with the journeyman allowing just two runs on five hits and striking out five.

Kansas City, losers of three in a row and 11 of its last 15 games, will turn to Greinke to lift the team out of its rut. The standout right-hander has usually come through when called upon, as his 10-3 record and major league- best 1.95 earned run average will attest. He's been especially dominant at home, having amassed a 6-1 record with an outstanding 1.78 ERA in nine trips to the Kauffman Stadium mound.

The White Sox are well aware of Greinke's talents. The 25-year-old has faced Chicago three times already this season and has surrendered a mere four runs -- three earned -- and 17 hits in 22 innings over those outings, winning twice and receiving a no-decision in the other. In a May 4 matchup with the Sox at Kauffman Stadium, he racked up 10 strikeouts while firing a six-hit shutout.

Greinke comes in having won his last two starts as well. After tossing eight innings of one-run ball to down Houston on June 23, he limited Pittsburgh to two runs over 6 2/3 frames in a 3-2 decision at PNC Park this past Sunday.

The former first-round pick is 5-8 with a 4.20 ERA in 20 lifetime appearances (17 starts) against Chicago.

Greinke's counterpart this evening, John Danks, is on a nice roll of his own. The White Sox lefty has pitched at least seven innings and given up three runs or fewer in each of last four starts, although he's just 2-2 over that span due to a lack of run support.

Danks didn't need much help from his offense in Sunday's clash with the rival Cubs, as he allowed only four hits over seven shutout innings to lead the White Sox to a 6-0 victory over the Northsiders. The win evened his season record to 6-6 and lowered his ERA to a respectable 4.08.

The 24-year-old is 1-0 with a 3.25 ERA over six career starts against the Royals, but struggled in a visit to Kauffman Stadium back on May 31. Danks was reached for four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings that day and came away with a no-decision.

Chicago has won four of six matchups with the Royals held in Kansas City so far this season and swept a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium from May 29-31. Additionally, the White Sox enter this evening's tilt having won 12 of their last 15 overall road games.