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Danks, White Sox face Guthrie, Orioles

Apr 22, 2009 - 6:11 AM By Jeff Mezydlo Stats Senior Writer

Chi White Sox (7-6) at Baltimore (7-7), 7:05 p.m. EDT

BALTIMORE (AP) -- John Danks is doing his best to assert himself as the ace of the Chicago White Sox pitching staff.

The 24-year-old looks for another strong outing Wednesday night while trying to help the White Sox even their three-game road set with the Baltimore Orioles, who snapped a five-game losing streak by winning the series opener.

While veteran Mark Buehrle drew the opening-day start and is 2-0, Danks (1-0, 0.75 ERA) continues to show flashes of dominance that has many in the organization believing he is on path to be the gem of the club's pitching staff sooner rather than later.

After throwing six scoreless innings against in a 2-1 loss to Kansas City in his 2009 debut, Danks allowed one run and two hits while striking out eight in six innings of a 3-2 win at Tampa Bay on Thursday.

"Great, unbelievable," manager Ozzie Guillen told the White Sox's official Web site. "This kid has a chance to be special."

Dating to his last loss on Sept. 26, Danks has allowed one run over his last 20 innings with 17 strikeouts during that span.

The left-hander, though, is 1-2 with a 5.94 ERA in three starts against Baltimore (7-7), which broke out for a 10-3 win over the White Sox on Tuesday after scoring six runs total in their last three contests.

Aubrey Huff homered twice and drove in four, Nick Markakis went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, and Luke Scott went 3-for-4 to help starter Brad Bergesen win his major-league debut after a 98-minute rain delay.

Markakis is batting .406 (13-for-32) with 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored during his current eight-game hitting streak, and .386 in 23 games against Chicago. He is 3-for-9 with two RBIs versus Danks.

Jeremy Guthrie (2-0, 4.32) looks to bounce back from his worst outing of the season when he takes the ball for Baltimore. He allowed eight runs - five earned - and eight hits while walking four and striking out five in 4 2-3 innings of a 10-8 loss at Boston on Friday.

"I felt like I pitched better than the numbers," Guthrie told the Orioles' official Web site.

The right-hander could be in for a challenge trying to get back on track against Chicago, a team he is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA against in three career starts.

Alexei Ramirez had two of the White Sox's five hits and drove in a run in the opener. Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye each added an RBI for Chicago (7-6), which was coming off a 12-2 win at Tampa Bay on Sunday to win three of four from the defending AL champions.

"We have to do a better job of getting on base," outfielder Brian Anderson said of Chicago's recent effort.

Dye is batting .367 and is 4-for-5 with a homer against Guthrie, while Konerko is 3-for-8 with two home runs versus him.

Carlos Quentin failed in his attempt to homer for a fourth straight game Tuesday, but is 2-for-3 with a home run against Guthrie.