A look at the best-of-five American League division series between the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays:
Schedule (All times EDT): Game 1, Thursday, at Tampa Bay (2:37 p.m.); Game 2, Friday, at Tampa Bay (6:07 p.m.); Game 3, Sunday, at Chicago (TBA); x-Game 4, Monday, Oct. 6, at Chicago (TBA); x-Game 5, Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Tampa Bay (TBA). (All games on TBS).
x-if necessary.
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Season Series: Tampa Bay won 6-4.
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Projected Lineups
White Sox: SS Orlando Cabrera (.281, 8 HRs, 57 RBIs), LF Dewayne Wise (.248, 6, 18), RF Jermaine Dye (.292, 34, 96), DH Jim Thome (.245, 34, 90), 1B Paul Konerko (.240, 22, 62), CF Ken Griffey Jr. (.260, 3, 18 after July 31 trade from Cincinnati; .249, 18, 71 overall), 2B Alexei Ramirez (.290, 21, 77), C A.J. Pierzynski (.281, 13, 60), 3B Juan Uribe (.247, 7, 40).
yd (.268, 11, 39), C Dioner Navarro (.295, 7, 54), LF Carl Crawford (.273, 8, 57), RF Gabe Gross (.242, 13, 38), SS Jason Bartlett (.286, 1, 37).
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Projected Rotations
White Sox: RH Javier Vazquez (12-16, 4.67 ERA), LH Mark Buehrle (15-12, 3.79), RH Gavin Floyd (17-8, 3.84), LH John Danks (12-9, 3.32).
Rays: RH James Shields (14-8, 3.56), LH Scott Kazmir (12-8, 3.49), RH Matt Garza (11-9, 3.70), RH Andy Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38).
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Relievers
White Sox: RH Bobby Jenks (3-1, 2.64, 30/34 saves), LH Matt Thornton (5-3, 2.67, team-high 74 appearances), RH Octavio Dotel (4-4, 3.76), LH Boone Logan (2-3, 5.95), RH Scott Linebrink (2-2, 3.69).
Rays: RH Troy Percival (2-1, 4.53, 28/32 saves, hampered by injuries second half of season), RH Grant Balfour (6-2, 1.54, 82 strikeouts in 58 1-3 innings), LH J.P. Howell (6-1, 2.22), LH Trever Miller (2-0, 4.15), RH Chad Bradford (4-3, 2.12), LH David Price (0-0, 1.93), RH Dan Wheeler (5-6, 3.12, 13/18 saves), RH Jason Hammel (4-4, 4.60).
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Matchups
r, also had success against Tampa Bay this year. He was 2-1 with a 1.86 ERA in 19 1-3 innings over three starts. He’s 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three career starts at Tropicana Field. … Longoria, the front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year, hit .120 with no homers and one RBI in seven games against Chicago. Upton batted .364 with four RBIs, playing in each game of the season series. … Look for upbeat manager Joe Maddon to go to Balfour out of the bullpen. The right-hander didn’t allow an earned run in five games (4 1-3 innings) against the White Sox this season. … The White Sox and crosstown Cubs are in the postseason together for the first time since 1906. … Crawford is back in the lineup and could put even more pressure on Pierzynski, who threw out just 11 of 107 would-be base stealers this year. Crawford had 25 of Tampa Bay’s major league-best 142 stolen bases. … Thome hit three of Chicago’s 12 homers against the Rays this year. He has 15 homers, 40 RBIs and a .325 batting average in 57 career games versus Tampa Bay.
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Big Picture
became the first team in major league history to win its final three regular-season games against three different opponents, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. … Thome and Griffey, both 38, are back in the postseason after long absences. Thome hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2001 with Cleveland, and Griffey will be making his first postseason appearance since 1997 with Seattle. … After Chicago lost three of four at Tampa Bay earlier this season, manager Ozzie Guillen went on a rant, saying general manager Ken Williams had to make changes if the team expected to keep winning. The two quickly cleared the air. … Guillen led Chicago to the 2005 World Series title, its first in 88 years.
eague playoffs. Floyd is in the postseason for the third straight year. He was with the Mets in 2006 and Cubs in 2007. … The Rays won the AL East despite playing a significant number of games with Longoria, Crawford and Percival on the disabled list late in the season. Longoria missed five weeks after breaking his right wrist Aug. 7. Crawford hasn’t played in the field since Aug. 9 when he was sidelined with a tendon injury to his right middle finger that required surgery. He is expected back in the lineup for Game 1. A two-time All-Star and four-time AL stolen base champion, Crawford’s return could spark the Rays on offense and defense.
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Watch For
– Tricks At The Trop. Tropicana Field, with its catwalks and artificial turf, hosts its first playoff games. Tampa Bay prospered in the wacky dome, compiling the best home record (57-24) in the majors. A tricky bounce or two could turn a postseason series.
– Tired or tested? The White Sox had to win their last three games to win the division crown. Buehrle, Floyd, Vazquez and Danks each pitched on three days’ rest over Chicago’s final four games. Will the AL Central champs carry that never-say-die persona into the playoffs or will they be fatigued after a tense final week of the season?
since the All-Star break, hitting 17 homers and providing clutch hits. A patient hitter, he drew nine walks with the bases loaded, most in the majors since 1957.
– Powerball. Chicago hit 12 of its major league-high 235 homers against Tampa Bay this season. The White Sox have 42 homers in their last 21 home games. They hit four or more long balls in a big league-best 11 games this season, including six times in August. The Rays finished with 180 homers, tying for ninth in the majors. If the series turns into a slugfest, Chicago should have an advantage.
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