GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (55-70) at CHI WHITE SOX (56-69)

AL: KANSAS CITY (55-70) at CHI WHITE SOX (56-69)

<h3>White Sox try to sweep Royals</h3>



<div class="pre">Kansas City (55-70) at Chi White Sox (56-69) 2:05 pm EDT</div>

CHICAGO (Ticker) - The Chicago White Sox aim to complete athree-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

With the White Sox out of the American League Central race,manager Ozzie Guillen has decided to take the tactic of playingsome of his younger players.


Guillen has relied on second-year players Josh Fields and JerryOwens over the last month. Fields has nine homers and 20 RBI inhis last 27 games, while Owens has batted .291 over his last 25contests.


But it was a pair of veterans who helped the White Sox to a 5-2victory on Tuesday. Javier Vazquez pitched six-plus effectiveinnings and Jim Thome homered and drove in three runs topace Chicago.


Jose Contreras (6-15, 6.18 ERA) takes the mound for the WhiteSox. Making his second start since returning to the rotationfollowing a demotion to the bullpen, the Cuban righthander isjust 1-8 in his last 10 starts.


On Friday, Contreras gave up five runs and nine hits over seveninnings in a 5-4 setback to Seattle.


Contreras is 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA lifetime against Kansas City.

Coming off a strong outing, Brian Bannister (9-7, 3.31) toes therubber for the Royals. The righthander pitched a four-hitter ina 9-2 victory at Oakland on Friday.


Bannister beat the White Sox on June 29, surrendering one runand four hits over 6 1/3 innings en route to an 8-1 win.

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY AT CHI WHITE SOX -- LINEUPS

KANSAS CITY CHI WHITE SOX
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Joey Gathright LF .364 0 15 Jerry Owens CF .249 1 9
Mark Grudzielanek 2B .304 5 40 Josh Fields 3B .245 14 43
David Dejesus CF .270 6 49 Jim Thome DH .263 21 66
Billy Butler DH .299 4 37 Paul Konerko 1B .270 24 68
Ross Gload 1B .302 5 40 Darin Erstad LF .268 2 26
Emil Brown RF .235 6 50 Jermaine Dye RF .245 24 62
Alex Gordon 3B .243 11 42 Juan Uribe SS .222 13 50
Jason Smith SS .209 4 10 Danny Richar 2B .200 3 9
Jason Larue C .147 4 12 Toby Hall C .235 0 1

Brian Bannister RHP (9-7, 3.31) Jose Contreras RHP (6-15, 6.18)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX
WARMUPS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER (9-7, 3.31)
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS (6-15, 6.18)

UMPIRES: HP - ADAM DOWDY
1B - ALFONSO MARQUEZ
2B - CHUCK MERIWETHER
3B - TIM TIMMONS

WEATHER: 83 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 7 mph, in from right</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX
STARTING BATS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER AND JASON LARUE
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS AND TOBY HALL

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J GATHRIGHT (.364, 0 HR, 15 RBI)
M GRUDZIELA (.304, 5 HR, 40 RBI)
D DEJESUS (.270, 6 HR, 49 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY BILLY BUTLER SCORED MARK GRUDZIELANEK.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D DEJESUS ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
CHI WHITE SOX 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: R GLOAD (.302, 5 HR, 40 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ROSS GLOAD SCORED DAVID DEJESUS.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, R GLOAD ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
CHI WHITE SOX 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: E BROWN (.235, 6 HR, 50 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 2 2 0
CHI WHITE SOX 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: J OWENS (.249, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
J FIELDS (.245, 14 HR, 43 RBI)
J THOME (.263, 21 HR, 66 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (2) VS CHI WHITE SOX (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .361
M Grudzielanek 2b 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .304
D DeJesus cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .272
B Butler dh 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .299
R Gload 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .305
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
J LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .147

Totals 4 2 2 2 0 0 2

BATTING: SF - B Butler. RBI - B Butler (38), R Gload (41). 2-out RBI - R Gload.
Team LOB - 1.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (7, 2nd base off J Contreras/T Hall).


CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Owens cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
J Fields 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
J Thome dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
P Konerko 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .270
D Erstad lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .268
J Dye rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
J Uribe ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
D Richar 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
T Hall c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 2 -- 2
CHI WHITE SOX - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.31

CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Contreras 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 6.27

HBP - M Grudzielanek (by J Contreras). Pitches-strikes: J Contreras 23-15.
Ground balls-fly balls: J Contreras 1-2. Batters faced: J Contreras 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Alfonso Marquez. 2B--Chuck Meriwether. 3B--Tim
Timmons.

Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX
CONFIRMED STARTERS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DARIN ERSTAD SCORED JIM THOME.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D ERSTAD ON FIRST, P KONERKO ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
CHI WHITE SOX 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: J DYE (.245, 24 HR, 62 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JERMAINE DYE SCORED PAUL KONERKO.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J DYE ON FIRST, D ERSTAD ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 2
CHI WHITE SOX 2 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: J URIBE (.222, 13 HR, 50 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 2 2 0
CHI WHITE SOX 2 2 3 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: A GORDON (.243, 11 HR, 42 RBI)
J SMITH (.209, 4 HR, 10 RBI)
J LARUE (.147, 4 HR, 12 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (2) VS CHI WHITE SOX (2) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .361
M Grudzielanek 2b 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .304
D DeJesus cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .272
B Butler dh 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .299
R Gload 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .305
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
J LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .147

Totals 4 2 2 2 0 0 2

BATTING: SF - B Butler. RBI - B Butler (38), R Gload (41). 2-out RBI - R Gload.
Team LOB - 1.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (7, 2nd base off J Contreras/T Hall).


CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Owens cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
J Fields 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
J Thome dh 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .266
P Konerko 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .270
D Erstad lf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .272
J Dye rf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .247
J Uribe ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .222
D Richar 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
T Hall c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235

Totals 6 2 3 2 1 1 2

BATTING: 2B - J Thome (16, B Bannister). RBI - D Erstad (27), J Dye (63). 2-out
RBI - D Erstad, J Dye. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Uribe 1.
Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 2 -- 2
CHI WHITE SOX - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister 1 3 2 2 1 1 0 3.43

CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Contreras 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 6.27

HBP - M Grudzielanek (by J Contreras). Pitches-strikes: B Bannister 34-17; J
Contreras 23-15. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bannister 0-2; J Contreras 1-2.
Batters faced: B Bannister 7; J Contreras 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Alfonso Marquez. 2B--Chuck Meriwether. 3B--Tim
Timmons.

Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MARK GRUDZIELANEK SCORED JASON LARUE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M GRUDZIELANEK ON FIRST, J GATHRIGHT ON
SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 3
CHI WHITE SOX 2 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DEJESUS (.272, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL AT CHI WHITE SOX - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DAVID DEJESUS SCORED JOEY GATHRIGHT.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, D DEJESUS ON SECOND, M GRUDZIELANEK ON
THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 4
CHI WHITE SOX 2 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: B BUTLER (.299, 0-FOR-0, SF, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 2 4 5 0
CHI WHITE SOX 2 2 3 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: D RICHAR (.200, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
T HALL (.235, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
J OWENS (.248, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS CHI WHITE SOX (2) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright lf 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .366
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .306
D DeJesus cf 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 .273
B Butler dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 .298
R Gload 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .305
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
J Smith ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .207
J LaRue c 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .147

Totals 10 4 5 4 1 0 4

BATTING: SF - B Butler. RBI - B Butler (38), R Gload (41), M Grudzielanek (41),
D DeJesus (50). 2-out RBI - R Gload, M Grudzielanek, D DeJesus. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - B Butler 2. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (7, 2nd base off J Contreras/T Hall).


CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Owens cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
J Fields 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
J Thome dh 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .266
P Konerko 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .270
D Erstad lf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .272
J Dye rf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .247
J Uribe ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .222
D Richar 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
T Hall c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235

Totals 6 2 3 2 1 1 2

BATTING: 2B - J Thome (16, B Bannister). RBI - D Erstad (27), J Dye (63). 2-out
RBI - D Erstad, J Dye. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Uribe 1.
Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 22 -- 4
CHI WHITE SOX - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister 1 3 2 2 1 1 0 3.43

CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Contreras 2 5 4 4 1 0 0 6.36

HBP - M Grudzielanek (by J Contreras). Pitches-strikes: B Bannister 34-17; J
Contreras 51-33. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bannister 0-2; J Contreras 1-5.
Batters faced: B Bannister 7; J Contreras 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Alfonso Marquez. 2B--Chuck Meriwether. 3B--Tim
Timmons.

Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 2 4 5 0
CHI WHITE SOX 2 0 2 3 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: R GLOAD (.305, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
E BROWN (.234, 0-FOR-1)
A GORDON (.243, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS CHI WHITE SOX (2) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Gathright lf 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .366
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .306
D DeJesus cf 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 .273
B Butler dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 .298
R Gload 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .305
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .234
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243
J Smith ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .207
J LaRue c 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .147

Totals 10 4 5 4 1 0 4

BATTING: SF - B Butler. RBI - B Butler (38), R Gload (41), M Grudzielanek (41),
D DeJesus (50). 2-out RBI - R Gload, M Grudzielanek, D DeJesus. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - B Butler 2. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (7, 2nd base off J Contreras/T Hall).


CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Owens cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .247
J Fields 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
J Thome dh 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .266
P Konerko 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .270
D Erstad lf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .272
J Dye rf 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .247
J Uribe ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .222
D Richar 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .196
T Hall c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .232

Totals 9 2 3 2 1 2 2

BATTING: 2B - J Thome (16, B Bannister). RBI - D Erstad (27), J Dye (63). 2-out
RBI - D Erstad, J Dye. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Uribe 1.
Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 22 -- 4
CHI WHITE SOX - 20 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister 2 3 2 2 1 2 0 3.40

CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Contreras 2 5 4 4 1 0 0 6.36

HBP - M Grudzielanek (by J Contreras). Pitches-strikes: B Bannister 44-26; J
Contreras 51-33. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bannister 1-3; J Contreras 1-5.
Batters faced: B Bannister 10; J Contreras 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Alfonso Marquez. 2B--Chuck Meriwether. 3B--Tim
Timmons.

Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CHI WHITE SOX

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 2 0 4 5 0
CHI WHITE SOX 2 0 2 3 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER
CHA - JOSE CONTRERAS

DUE UP FOR CHI WHITE SOX: J FIELDS (.244, 0-FOR-1)
J THOME (.266, 1-FOR-1)
P KONERKO (.270, 0-FOR-0, BB)</div>