When the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago White Sox met for a
two-game series in Chicago last week, the White Sox and Pirates
were on streaks heading in opposite directions. Those streaks ended
Sunday, just in time for a rematch with a two-game series beginning
tonight at PNC Park.
Chicago (10-27) ended a seven-game losing streak Sunday with a
comeback 5-3 win over the crosstown Cubs. The Pirates (23-17) had
their five-game winning streak halted Sunday when their offense
cooled significantly in a 5-0 loss to San Francisco.
Both teams were off Monday.
For the White Sox, a difficult season -- they have the worst record
in baseball -- prompted manager Rick Renteria to offer a message
Sunday to fans.
"If there's anything I can say, it's that the one thing I and our
staff can't lose sight of is where we're going, the direction that
we want to go," he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"Obviously, we've had situations that haven't gone as well as we've
wanted on both sides, the hitting or the pitching.
"That may bring no solace to the fan at this particular time, but I
can't lose focus on what we're trying to do in terms of developing
guys to become the players that we want them to be and the team
that we want them to be. And I've got to remain positive. I've got
to keep moving forward because if you allow it to take control of
you, you can bury yourself in it and it can be pretty tough to work
through it.
"No one, neither as a staff nor as an organization, expected that
we would be at this particular point right now. But it is what it
is. I think we have to continue to move forward. I don't see us
jumping the gun and trying to do something to infuse, at this
particular moment, something to take away from what's going on
right now by having a young player come up right now. They have to
still do some things down there before we get them here."
Last week, the Pirates came from behind in both games for 10-6 and
6-5 wins. They piled up 42 runs during their five-game winning
streak before being shut out Sunday. They had trouble with Giants
starter Derek Holland, in particular.
"You're in the big leagues. Pitchers get paid, too," Pirates
manager Clint Hurdle said. "Our team has been swinging the bats
pretty well. The matchup went well when the at-bats counted."
Pittsburgh right-hander Trevor Williams (4-2, 3.15 ERA) is
scheduled to face Chicago right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (0-2, 2.44)
on Tuesday. It's a rematch of the starters Wednesday.
Williams, in his only career start against the White Sox, allowed
four runs in five innings and did not get a decision as the Pirates
came back for a 6-5 win.
Lopez, likewise in his only career start against the Pirates,
outpitched Williams that game, holding the Pirates to three hits
(two of them solo homers) in a career-high 7 1/3 innings, with six
strikeouts and two walks.
He has said he aims to last at least six innings every start, and
he has pitched into the seven his past three outings and in four of
his nine this season.
"If you want to be a successful starter, you need to be
consistent," Lopez told mlb.com. "You can have five or six good
outings and maybe you're going to have one bad one. But then you
have to stop that bad outing and start a new good streak. That's
important, and that's our goal, always."
The White Sox are expected to make a roster move before Tuesday's
game after they optioned infielder Jose Rondon to Triple-A
Charlotte.
Tonight's game can be heard on Good Time Oldies 1060.
