Dallas-Mavs.com Forums
Old 09-16-2003, 01:47 PM   #1
Chiwas
Guru
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 13,363
Chiwas is infamous around these partsChiwas is infamous around these parts
Default The War today. (MLB)

The Twins are 1/2 game ahead of the Sox, leading the division.


Sox, Twins to battle at Metrodome
White Sox (80-69) at Twins (81-69), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com Get tickets


Twins preview
There is more than one reason why Esteban Loaiza is starting Tuesday night against the Twins in the latest of the most important series to date for the White Sox.

“Loaiza really sets the tone for us in that first game, and this keeps him on his regular turn,” White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said of starting the 19-game winner on his regular four days’ rest and bumping back Jon Garland one night.

“Este is not sensitive about it, but he likes to stay on that routine,” Manuel added. “So, we want to keep him on it.”

When Loaiza last went for victory No. 20 on Thursday at U.S. Cellular Field, it was Brad Radke who outpitched the Cy Young candidate with a complete-game effort. Radke’s changeup kept the White Sox hitters off balance all game, aside from Frank Thomas’ first-inning home run and Jose Valentin’s opposite-field long ball in the ninth.

“He was in control at our place,” said Valentin of Radke, who threw 125 pitches in the victory. “He wasn’t dominant, but he made pitches where he needed them. He was in control at our place, and it was a good game for him and not for us.

“But we have had some good days against Radke,” Valentin added.

Loaiza seems ready to put the White Sox alone atop the Central. He has tinkered with his cutter, the pitch that has put him among the mound elite in 2003, and feels everything is in order to set the tone for the series Tuesday night.

“That’s what Coop (White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper) said,” Loaiza said of setting the tone. “It’s about me going out there and winning the game for the team and then going on from there.”

Pitching matchup:
SOX: RHP Esteban Loaiza

19-7, 2.73 in 2003
2-2, 3.45 vs. MIN in 2003
2-3, 3.65 lifetime vs. MIN
BOS: RHP Brad Radke

12-10, 4.79 in 2003
2-2, 4.25 vs. SOX in 2003
11-10, 4.66 lifetime vs. SOX
Players to watch: Manuel can’t go wrong at first against Radke. Brian Daubach has a .367 average with three home runs and eight RBIs when facing the Twins right-hander, while Paul Konerko has a .313 average with one home run and five RBIs. Frank Thomas has five home runs and 10 RBIs in his career against Radke.

Quotable: “We need to take a deep breath, inhale, exhale and then go to the Metrodome.” -- Manuel, on his team preparing for three games in Minnesota that could decide the American League Central title

On the Internet:
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio


Gameday
On television:

White Sox: Fox Sports Net
Twins: Fox Sports Net
On radio:

White Sox: ESPN AM 1000
Twins: WCCO
Quick hits: Mark Buehrle is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA against the Red Sox in 2003, and 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA lifetime against Boston. Buehrle has 17 quality starts in his last 22 games. The White Sox have now won 14 of his last 18 starts, after winning just three of his first 12 to start the season. ... Carlos Lee has hit home runs in back-to-back games four times this season, accomplishing that goal on Saturday and Sunday in Boston. ... Sandy Alomar Jr. is hitting .344 over his last 10 games and .340 in his last 15 games with an official at-bat. He is hitting .319 on the road this season. ... Magglio Ordonez had three hits Sunday, raising his average at Fenway Park to .368 and his career average against Boston to .373. He is hitting .380 in his last 63 games and leads the American League with a .371 average since the All-Star break. ... The White Sox are 32-42 on the road, 27-20 during the day and 19-14 against the American League East. They finished 4-5 against the Red Sox. They trail the Twins and the Florida Marlins for the best second-half record, with the White Sox holding a 35-20 mark. The White Sox also are 3-3 in a stretch of 20 games against above-.500 teams to end the season and have won seven of their last 10 and 17 of their last 26.

__________________
Chiwas is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.