• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Pirates-White Sox Preview

May 22, 2009 - 3:39 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Pittsburgh (19-21) at Chicago (17-22), 8:11 p.m. EDT

In a matter of hours, the Chicago White Sox went from a resurgent team on the brink of bolstering their rotation to a club that was embarrassed at home and missed out on getting a new ace.

The White Sox will try to regroup Friday night when they begin their interleague schedule against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game series.

Chicago (17-23) hit .208 during a 1-7 road trip before starting a six-game homestand by beating Minnesota 6-2 on Tuesday and 7-4 the following night. The White Sox totaled four homers in those wins, including a grand slam by Jermaine Dye on Tuesday, after managing just six in the previous 10 games.

Things appeared to be getting even better early Thursday, with a trade for San Diego right-hander Jake Peavy being approved, but the deal was contingent on the 2007 Cy Young Award winner waiving his no-trade clause.

The momentum was short-lived. Chicago lost 20-1 to the Twins in Thursday's series finale, and after the defeat, it was announced Peavy blocked the trade.

"We did everything wrong we could do," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "You name it, we did it wrong."

Guillen hopes Chicago can bounce back during interleague play after it went 12-6 against NL opponents last year, including 7-2 at U.S. Cellular Field.

That success at home included a three-game sweep of the Pirates (19-21) from June 17-19, extending their winning streak over them to five games since a loss July 6, 2001. Overall, Chicago is 7-2 at home against Pittsburgh.

The White Sox, however, will have to contend with Zach Duke (5-3, 2.84 ERA), the Pirates' most reliable starter.

The left-hander is looking to help Pittsburgh, which went 6-9 against the AL in 2008, rebound from Thursday's 5-4 loss at Washington that halted its season-high five-game winning streak.

Duke, who already has matched his win total from all of last season, seeks to equal a career high with his third straight victory. He last won three consecutive games as a rookie from July 7-21, 2005.

Duke beat Colorado on Sunday, allowing four runs and six hits in seven innings of an 11-4 win. That came five days after he held St. Louis to one run and four hits in eight innings of a 7-1 victory.

"Duke pitched well," Pirates manager John Russell told the team's official Web site after Sunday's victory. "I think he went from throwing a perfect game to giving up four runs. But he settled down and he continued to give us quality innings after that, and we made some plays for him. It's kind of nice to pull one out for your starting pitcher occasionally."

Duke has no record and a 6.75 ERA in two career starts against the White Sox, with Pittsburgh winning both contests at home. He went 0-1 with a 3.50 ERA in interleague play last season.

Chicago will turn to Gavin Floyd (2-4, 7.71), who is 0-3 with a 9.95 ERA in his last five starts.

The right-hander was hit hard again Sunday, surrendering six runs and seven hits - including two homers - in five innings of an 8-2 loss at Toronto.

"I felt like I had better focus this outing, like I was more aggressive, but I made some poor pitches when it counted and got hurt," said Floyd, who is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two career starts against Pittsburgh.