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The White Sox will face the Kansas City Royals for the first time since being swept at Kauffman Stadium Aug. 17-19.
The bad news? Ned Yost will throw the same three starters at the Sox: Luis Mendoza, Bruce Chen and Jeremy Guthrie.
The good news? This time, it's at home, where the Sox have played dramatically better.
Here's a quick look at what each of these starters has done against the White Sox since settling in as a starter, leaving you ample opportunity to speculate, anticipate or dread the upcoming matchups.
Luis Mendoza
| Date | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | HBP | GDP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
2011-09-25 | W 2-1 | GS-8 ,W | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 100 | 61 | 67 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2012-05-13 | W 9-1 | 1-7 ,W | 5.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 81 | 49 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | 2012-07-15 | L 1-2 | GS-8 ,L | 7.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 93 | 52 | 64 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | 2012-08-06 | L 2-4 | GS-8 ,L | 7.1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 103 | 65 | 52 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | 2012-08-17 | W 4-2 | GS-7 ,W | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 85 | 51 | 66 | 1 | 0 |
Note the HBPs. Mendoza usually starts by throwing fastballs in on righties, then breaking balls away, and the Sox have been slow to catch up to this.
Bruce Chen
| Date | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | HBP | GDP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010-06-10 | W 9-8 | GS-7 ,W | 6.1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 99 | 74 | 39 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 2010-07-27 | L 2-11 | GS-6 ,L | 5.1 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 68 | 20 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 2011-04-29 | W 4-3 | GS-6 | 5.1 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 101 | 60 | 39 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 2011-07-14 | L 4-8 | GS-5 ,L | 5.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 102 | 62 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 2011-09-13 | W 4-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 119 | 82 | 85 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 2011-09-28 | L 0-1 | GS-8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 115 | 78 | 68 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 2012-04-29 | L 4-7 | GS-3 ,L | 2.2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 37 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 2012-06-05 | W 1-0 | GS-7 ,W | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 88 | 62 | 74 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 2012-07-01 | L 8-10 | GS-6 ,L | 5.2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 95 | 66 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
They used to be able to hit him, and then they stopped. Fortunately, Detroit couldn't hit him the last time, either.
Jeremy Guthrie
| Rk | Date | Tm | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | HBP | GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2007-07-12 | BAL | L 7-9 | GS-4 ,L | 3.2 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 81 | 46 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 2008-04-17 | BAL | W 6-5 | GS-6 | 6.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 103 | 63 | 47 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 2008-04-27 | BAL | L 1-6 | GS-6 ,L | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 93 | 61 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 2009-04-22 | BAL | L 2-8 | GS-6 ,L | 6.0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 104 | 63 | 35 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 2009-07-19 | BAL | W 10-2 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 108 | 69 | 72 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 2009-08-21 | BAL | W 5-1 | GS-7 ,W | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 96 | 61 | 61 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 2010-08-08 | BAL | W 4-3 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 116 | 76 | 69 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | 2010-08-24 | BAL | L 5-7 | GS-7 ,L | 6.2 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 97 | 60 | 31 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | 2011-05-02 | BAL | L 2-6 | GS-7 ,L | 7.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 110 | 72 | 53 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | 2011-08-08 | BAL | L 6-7 | GS-7 | 7.0 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 103 | 70 | 45 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 2012-08-08 | KCR | W 2-1 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 74 | 78 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 2012-08-19 | KCR | W 5-2 | GS-8 | 7.2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 103 | 70 | 75 | 0 | 0 |
The Red Sox knocked him out in the third inning on Aug. 25. He's thrown quality starts in every other one of his last seven appearances, including five outings with both seven innings or more and fewer than three runs. Something's changed, and it's up to the Sox to change him back.