• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

White Sox-Yankees Preview

Aug 29, 2009 - 4:36 AM By PAUL DIGIACOMO STATS Senior Editor

Chicago (64-64) at New York (79-48), 1:05 p.m. EDT

It's no surprise that Jake Peavy will not be starting for the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon. Jose Contreras taking the mound is a bit unexpected.

With Peavy still unable to join the rotation, Chicago will give Contreras another start when it visits the New York Yankees.

Acquired at the July 31 trade deadline from San Diego, Peavy hasn't pitched in the majors since being put on the disabled list in mid-June with a strained tendon in his right ankle.

The right-hander had been on schedule to start this game but suffered a setback after taking a liner off his pitching elbow in a rehab outing for Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

The White Sox opted not to rush Peavy back and will give him another start Saturday for Charlotte.

"I would think that it's probably a good shot that after the next start in Triple-A, he will be pitching somewhere with us," pitching coach Don Cooper told the White Sox's official Web site. "It's a good chance, unless something crazy happens."

Chicago (64-65) could use the services of Peavy, who won the NL Cy Young Award in 2007 and is 92-68 with a 3.29 ERA in his career, as it struggles to stay in the AL Central race.

After Contreras (5-12, 5.09) committed a costly error and lost at Boston on Monday, manager Ozzie Guillen emphatically stated that the struggling right-hander would not start again this season.

"I got three kids and I want to see my grandkids when they are born. I don't want to get a heart attack before my time," Guillen said. "We did everything we could to protect Jose to give him the most opportunities we could. But we can't deal with this anymore."

Contreras, who made his major league debut with the Yankees in 2003, is 1-5 with a 6.16 ERA in eight starts since the All-Star break.

The White Sox fell into third place in the division with a 5-2, 10-inning loss in the opener of this three-game series Friday night. Chicago has dropped five of six and trails first-place Detroit by five games.

"There are still a lot of games left," Guillen said. "You never know what's going to happen. But if we keep playing the way we've been playing, it's going to be a long month."

New York became the first team in the majors to reach 80 wins as Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer in the 10th. The Yankees (80-48) maintained their six-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East.

"We've still got to continue to do what we're doing, because we have not accomplished anything yet," captain Derek Jeter said. "It seems like it gets harder and harder to win."

Sergio Mitre (2-1, 6.82) returns to the rotation when he takes the mound for New York. The right-hander made six starts after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 21 before making a relief appearance Aug. 21 at Boston.

One of those starts came in Chicago on July 31, when Mitre didn't receive a decision after allowing five runs and seven hits over three innings of a 10-5 loss. He is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in three starts against the White Sox.