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Daniel Cabrera has only made five starts in 2008, but the Baltimore Orioles right-hander appears to be erasing the memory of a dismal season.
Looking to continue his successful start, Cabrera will try to pick up his third consecutive victory and help the Orioles salvage a split of their four-game road set against the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Chicago -141 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 66% of bets for this game have been placed on Chicago -141 (View MLB Bet Percentages). Bet this game.
Cabrera was 9-18 with a career-worst 5.55 ERA in 34 starts in 2007, finishing with dubious league leads in both losses and walks (108). He went 0-6 with an 8.10 ERA over his final eight appearances – a span in which Baltimore went 1-7.
Those struggles, though, haven’t carried over into the current season as the Orioles (14-11) have won all five games Cabrera (2-2, 4.40 ERA) has started. And after two shaky outings at the beginning of the year, he has limited opponents to two runs or fewer in each of his last three games.
Cabrera turned in his best effort on Wednesday, holding Seattle to two runs and five hits over eight innings in a 3-2 road victory. The right-hander retired his final 11 batters and avoided issuing a walk for the first time in 31 appearances to win back-to-back starts for the first time since May 5-10.
"I’m just coming every day to play baseball," Cabrera told the Orioles’ official Web site. "I’ve been around for a little while, so I think it’s time to keep it straight and try to do everything right."
Cabrera will now try for his first three-game winning streak since July 2-14, 2005, but the mark could be hard to reach versus the White Sox (14-10). He is 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA in seven career starts against them, and is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA in five games since winning on May 14, 2005 at U.S. Cellular Field.
The White Sox have split the first six matchups on their seven-game homestand following a 6-1 win over the Orioles on Sunday. Paul Konerko hit two solo homers for Chicago, which has won three of five versus Baltimore this season after taking the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Konerko, who has five homers and is tied for second on the team with 18 RBIs, raised his season average 21 points to .218 (17-for-78). His production helped overcome the absence of Jermaine Dye, who missed a third straight game with a strained left groin.
"We need Paulie to get going," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He’s the type of guy who doubts himself too much about hitting. We need him to start coming out of that. I think it was a relief for him to have this day today."
Konerko has hit .296 (71-for-240) with 15 homers and 52 RBIs in 68 games versus the Orioles, who have dropped two straight after a three-game winning streak.
The White Sox will be trying for their first three-game run since winning five in a row from April 3-7 behind Javier Vazquez (3-2, 4.40), who is coming off his worst outing of the season.
Vazquez allowed six runs and 10 hits – both season highs – in 5 1-3 innings of a 6-4 loss home loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. The defeat ended his personal three-game winning streak.
The right-hander looks to get back on track versus the Orioles, whom he is 6-2 with a 5.24 ERA in 11 career starts against.
Since joining the White Sox in 2006, Vazquez is 2-0 with a 4.62 ERA in four starts against Baltimore with both victories coming at U.S. Cellular Field, where he is 9-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 13 starts since July 3.