Chicago White Sox Pitcher Mark Buehrle Goes Distance Against Oakland Athletics
July 24, 2010- By Jonathan Lowell
On the anniversary of his first perfect game, Mark Buehrle looked just as dominant against the Oakland Athletics Friday night. Buehrle went the distance against the A’s on the road, and kept his team in the lead of the American League Central division.
A radar gun malfunction in the Oakland Coliseum clocked one of Buehrle’s pitches at 800 miles an hour, a number that could have been believed at some points. The left-hander only allowed one run, and the White Sox bats did just enough to earn a 5-1 victory. Bettors betting the under on the MLB run line, won thanks to Buehrle’s efforts.
“It was one of those games where everything was working,” Buehrle said. “They weren’t finding holes, I was making pitches, getting ahead in the count. You have that five to eight times a year, and when you do it’s fun.”
He pitched six scoreless innings before giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh when Jack Kust doubled home Kevin Kouzmanff. The A’s wouldn’t threaten again, going down in order for their final six outs.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said after the game that when a pitcher is throwing well, there is extra motivation for the hitters to give him support.
“He was good. He made those guys swing the bat and we played good defense behind him,” Guillen said.
Buehrle’s perfect game a year ago came against another non-division opponent: the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays couldn’t reach safely, and the A’s struggled in similar ways. 14 total ground ball outs helped Buerhrle stay out of too much trouble. Those betting on MLB odds in the future should take not the next time Buerhle steps on the mound.
After a bad start to the year, Buerhrle has finally turned it around by going 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA. The White Sox ace had lost five-straight decisions at one point in the first half, but now he is running on all cylinders.
“As a starting pitcher you’re going to have so many good ones and then you’re going to have bad ones throughout the year,” Buehrle said. “I think I had so many bad ones at the beginning I’m due to go on a little streak here of good ones.”
Carlos Quentin helped his pitcher’s cause with two RBIs in his first game back from a wrist injury. Last Sunday, Quentin was hit in the wrist in an at-bat against the Minnesota Twins.
Omar Vizquel delivered with two hits that put him in 50th place on the all-time hit list. He also scored a run in the sixth when Quentin drove him in.
The Sox have now won 3-4 on the road after dropping a home series with Minnesota. Their lead is now 2 1/2 games over the Detroit Tigers.
MLB betting lines will have the Sox as the underdog in the second game of the series with the A’s at Even odds. Oakland is set as the favorite at -120 odds, and the over/under for total runs scored by both teams is set at 9.
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