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White Sox-Yankees Preview

May 1, 2010 - 11:32 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Chicago (9-14) at New York (15-7), 1:05 p.m. EDT

Fresh off their first-ever victory at the new Yankee Stadium, the Chicago White Sox have a chance to become the first visiting team to win a series there this year.

They'll have Mark Buehrle on the mound trying to improve on a poor history against the New York Yankees as the teams decide their three-game set Sunday.

The White Sox had dropped their first four games at the Yankees' new ballpark and five straight overall to New York (15-8) before Saturday, when they looked primed for another defeat after a 5-1 lead turned into a 6-5 deficit.

They rallied, though, as A.J. Pierzynski's two-run double in the seventh inning provided the go-ahead margin in Chicago's 7-6 victory.

"Always nice," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "You know when you come to this ballpark with that ballclub, you better fight."

Since the club's last back-to-back wins in the Bronx on Aug. 9 and 10, 2005, Chicago has lost 12 of 15 road games to the Yankees.

Overall, the White Sox (10-14) have won two of three and five of eight as they attempt to recover from their slow start. Andruw Jones has certainly helped, hitting his seventh and eighth home runs Saturday.

Buehrle (2-3, 4.68 ERA) has been among the Chicago players having early problems, losing his last three starts. Facing the Yankees may make it difficult to avoid dropping four straight outings for the first time since a personal five-game skid in July 2006.

Despite holding New York to two runs in six innings at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 28, Buehrle failed to improve upon his 1-6 career record against the Yankees as the White Sox lost 5-2 in 10 innings.

Chicago has lost nine of the left-hander's 10 career starts against New York, and Buehrle's 6.43 ERA versus the Yankees is his worst against any AL opponent.

He picked up his 100th career loss Tuesday at Texas, allowing four runs in seven innings of Chicago's 4-2 defeat.

"I'm going to have games where I get it handed to me, and I'll have games where I go out there and deal," Buehrle told his team's official website. "I want to win every game and go deep in every game. All you can do is give your team a chance to win on the mound."

New York will counter with Phil Hughes, who is hoping to shake off his control problems.

Hughes (2-0, 2.00) showed plenty of promise in April, holding opponents to a .103 batting average and striking out 18 in 18 innings, but also walked 11, including four Tuesday as he needed 109 pitches to get through 5 2-3 innings of the Yankees' 5-4 loss to Baltimore.

"It was a struggle, for sure. I didn't have my best stuff," Hughes said despite holding the Orioles to one run and two hits. "Command was pretty bad early. I tried to battle and do the best I could."

Saturday's defeat was only the second in eight home games for New York, but the Yankees have lost five of nine overall and will play without outfielder Curtis Granderson for the foreseeable future. The prized offseason acquisition is headed for the 15-day disabled list after suffering a moderate groin strain Saturday. There is no timetable for his return.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Brett Gardner will shift from left field to center to replace Granderson, while Randy Winn and Marcus Thames will split time in left.