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McCarthy, A's welcome White Sox to town

May 13, 2011 - 2:41 PM (Sports Network) - Right-hander Brandon McCarthy starts for the second time against the team with which he began his big-league career tonight, when his Oakland Athletics host the Chicago White Sox to begin a three-game series at the Coliseum.

The 6-foot-7, 200-pounder was a 17th-round pick of the White Sox in 2002 and reached the majors with them in 2005, making 12 starts in 65 appearances over two seasons with a 7-9 record.

He was sent to Texas in a five-player deal following the 2006 season and spent three seasons with the Rangers before being granted free agency and signing a one-year deal with the Athletics in December.

McCarthy began the season with a win and two no-decisions in three starts with his new team but has faltered since, dropping three decisions in four starts while seeing his earned run average swell from 2.45 to its current 3.26 number.

He lasted 8 1/3 innings while giving up seven hits and four runs in his most recent start on May 7 in Kansas City, but nonetheless dropped a 4-3 verdict to the Royals to fall to 1-3.

He's faced the White Sox once and gotten a win after allowing three hits and a run in five innings.

Chicago, meanwhile, will go with Texas-born righty Philip Humber, who was briefly a member of the Oakland organization last offseason but never appeared in a game.

The 28-year-old was the third overall pick in the 2004 draft for the New York Mets, but made just 26 big-league appearances through 2010 with the Mets, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.

Humber was waived by the Royals in December 2010 and picked up by the Athletics, but went to Chicago via the same route just a month later in January.

He's appeared in eight games and made six starts with the White Sox since, lasting seven innings in each of his last three starts to prompt Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen to go with an unusual six-man rotation upon the recent return of injured veteran Jake Peavy.

In those three starts, Humber is 1-1 with a no-decision while allowing seven hits and four runs with 14 strikeouts in 21 innings.

Humber has never faced the Athletics.

On Wednesday in Anaheim, Alexei Ramirez scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning as the White Sox came from behind to top the Los Angeles Angels, 6-4, in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Adam Dunn, who scored an insurance run on a Brent Lillibridge sacrifice fly, finished 4-for-5 with a solo home run and scored three times in the win where the White Sox scored the final five runs of the game. A.J. Pierzynski also collected four hits as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games.

Sergio Santos (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to get the win while Matt Thornton closed out the game in the 10th for his first save of the season.

In Texas, Wednesday's game between the Athletics and Rangers was postponed with the hosts holding a 7-0 lead after 3 1/2 innings of play.

No make up date was set, but it's expected the game will be made up when the Athletics return to Texas for a three-game set from July 8-10, the final series before the All-Star break.

Oakland took two of three from the White Sox earlier in the year.