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Royals-White Sox Preview

Aug 17, 2009 - 2:42 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Kansas City (45-71) at Chicago (60-57), 8:11 p.m. EDT

Chicago's Mark Buehrle is still looking for his first win since his perfect game last month, but he gave the White Sox little to complain about in his last outing.

Buehrle takes the mound Monday looking to snap a four-game winless streak as Chicago opens a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals.

The White Sox (60-58) are 2 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Detroit, and failed to take advantage of a chance to move closer Sunday. Kansas City (46-71) beat the Tigers 3-2 in 10 innings, but Chicago lost 3-2 to Oakland after Mark Ellis hit a two-out home run in the ninth off closer Bobby Jenks.

"These losses obviously hurt and they stick in your mind for a while," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, whose team won the weekend's first two games against the A's. "But as soon as we hit the field again we'll be fine. You just can't carry one day to the next."

Guillen has good reason to feel optimistic with Buehrle (11-6, 3.70 ERA) taking the mound in the series opener against the Royals. The left-hander is 20-8 with a 3.41 lifetime ERA versus Kansas City, and 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in three starts this season. The last five times he's faced the Royals, Chicago has won.

Buehrle is winless in four starts since pitching a perfect game July 23 against Tampa Bay. However, he had his best outing since that start Wednesday at Seattle, allowing six hits in eight innings of a 1-0, 14-inning loss. Buehrle had an 8.35 ERA in his previous three starts.

The White Sox and Royals have split 12 games in this season's series, although Chicago has outscored Kansas City 51-39. A.J. Pierzynski is hitting .488 with six extra-base hits against the Royals this season, while Jermaine Dye has hit four homers in 11 games.

Dye was 5 for 11 with four RBIs against Oakland over the weekend after hitting .114 with four RBIs in his previous 11 contests.

The Royals dropped two of three over the weekend to the Tigers. On Sunday, Josh Anderson scored on Ryan Raburn's third throwing error of the game as Kansas City made up for two errors of its own and avoided the sweep.

The victory was the Royals' sixth in 18 games overall. They had only five hits, including two by Anderson.

"We'll take anything right now," said manager Trey Hillman, whose last-place club is trying to avoid finishing at the bottom of the Central for the fifth time in six years.

Brian Bannister (7-9, 4.26) will take the mound for Kansas City trying to avoid a third straight loss after having allowed 14 runs over 10 innings in his last two outings. The right-hander gave up seven runs - five in the first inning - and nine hits in six innings of a 7-1 loss to the Minnesota on Wednesday.

Bannister is 3-4 with a 7.60 ERA in 11 starts against the White Sox. He's split two starts against them this year, and pitched well July 5 at home versus Chicago, allowing two runs in six innings of a 6-3 victory.

The Royals' Mark Teahen is 1 for 14 in the last five games, but is a .440 career batter against Buehrle with 22 hits, his most off any pitcher.