A pair of offensively challenged clubs, the Indians and White Sox, play tonight at Progressive Field. Omar Vizquel starts at shortstop for Chicago.
The White Sox scored four runs in the first inning against struggling Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson on Monday.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This is a daily briefing of the Indians' 2010 regular season. The Tribe plays host to the White Sox tonight in the first of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Game 43
Pregame notes
Pitching matchup: Indians RHP Justin Masterson (0-4, 5.65 ERA) vs. White Sox LHP John Danks (3-3, 2.26).
Lineups:
White Sox (18-25) -- 1. Juan Pierre lf; 2. A.J. Pierzynski c; 3. Alex Rios cf; 4. Paul Konerko 1b; 5. Mark Kotsay dh; 6. Andruw Jones rf; 7. Mark Teahen 3b; 8. Omar Vizquel ss; 9. Gordon Beckham 2b; and Danks.
Indians (16-26) -- 1. Trevor Crowe cf; 2. Shin-Soo Choo rf; 3. Austin Kearns lf; 4. Russell Branyan 1b; 5. Jhonny Peralta 3b; 6. Mark Grudzielanek 2b; 7. Matt LaPorta dh; 8. Lou Marson c; 9. Jason Donald ss; and Masterson.
Umpires: P -- Angel Hernandez; 1b -- Paul Schrieber; 2b -- Rob Drake; 3b -- Joe West.
Hits wanted: The Indians entered the day ranked 12th in the American League with a .246 average. The White Sox, favored by many to win the Central, were 13th at .237. Only the Seattle Mariners (.236) looked up at both.
As expected, tonight's lineups feature plenty of low numbers. Of the 18 starters, 11 have averages below .250. For the White Sox: Pierzynski .214; Kotsay .195; Jones .239; Teahen .231; Vizquel .175; and Beckham .191. For the Indians: Branyan .219; Peralta .236; LaPorta .214; Marson .200; and Donald .136.
The bottom three in each of the lineups have combined for 26 RBI, including six total for LaPorta, Marson and Donald. White Sox slugger Konerko has 31 RBI.
Omarvelous: Vizquel played for the Indians from 1994 through 2004. He hit .283 with 288 doubles, 906 runs and 279 steals with the Indians. He appeared in six postseasons.
Vizquel is 4-for-24 with three RBI in seven games as a visitor at Progressive Field.
Vizquel has a chance to tie or surpass his idol, Luis Aparicio, on the all-time hits list for shortstops. Vizque has 2,673 hits at shortstop, one behind second-place Aparicio. The Yankees' Derek Jeter entered the day No. 1 with 2,782.
On May 1 at New York, Vizquel seemed to have tied Aparicio. But an Elias Sports Bureau review gave Aparicio another hit.
Vizqeul is subbing for Alexei Ramirez.
Seeking a second: Masterson owns one victory with the Indians since being acquired from Boston in the Victor Martinez trade July 31, 2009. He is 1-11 in 19 appearances (18 starts).
Masterson's victory came Aug. 20, 2009, against the Angels. Since then, he has lost 10 decisions and is winless in 15 starts.
In Tribe history, four pitchers have had losing streaks of at least 11: Guy Morton (13, 1914), Rod Nichols (13, 1989-1991), Steve Hargan (11, 1971-1972) and Fausto Carmona (11, 2006-2007).
Masterson's best start as an Indian came in a 1-0 home loss to the White Sox on Sept. 30, 2009. He pitched a complete-game four-hitter and struck out 12 in falling to Mark Buehrle.
Matchup trouble: The White Sox have lost five in a row against Cleveland, their longest such streak since April-July 2003. They beat the Tribe on Opening Day (April 5) in Chicago before losing the last two of that series. They were swept at Progressive Field, April 16-18.
Big-league Choo: Choo ranks 14th among A.L. outfielders in the latest All-Star balloting update from Major League Baseball.
Next: Series resumes Tuesday with Indians RHP Mitch Talbot facing White Sox RHP Jake Peavy.