5/20 CHW@CHC, 1:20 p.m.; TV: CSN; Radio: WGN

[VanMan]

The Cubs go for a sweep of the South Siders today following yesterday's 11-6 win, capped by Derek Lee's pinch-hit grand slam in the 8th inning. The North Siders look to attain .500 one again, while the White Sox want to salvage at least one game from the Crosstown Classic.

The pitching match-up for today's game is:

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_434665.jpg
Nick Masset (1-1, 6.61 ERA, first start of the year) for the White Sox

vs.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/images/players/action/ph_407296.jpg
Carlos Zambrano (4-3, 5.13 ERA) for the Cubs

Starting line-ups not available yet. There is speculation that Lee may return to the line-up today.

[VanMan]

The starting line-ups for today's game:

Chicago White Sox (20-19, 2nd in AL Central)
1. Darin Erstad, CF (.259, 2 HR, 16 RBI)
2. Tadahito Iguchi, 2B (.252, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
3. A.J. Pierzynski, C (.246, 7 HR, 14 RBI)
4. Jermaine Dye, RF (.218, 8 HR, 22 RBI)
5. Paul Konerko, 1B (.193, 6 HR, 21 RBI)
6. Rob Mackowiak, LF (.195, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
7. Joe Crede, 3B (.209, 4 HR, 17 RBI)
8. Juan Uribe, SS (.219, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
9. Nick Masset, P (no batting stats)

Chicago Cubs (20-21, 3rd in NL Central)
1. Ryan Theriot, 2B (.300, 0 HR, 14 RBI)
2. Angel Pagan, CF (.435, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
3. Alfonso Soriano, LF (.289, 4 HR, 9 RBI)
4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B (.283, 10 HR, 32 RBI)
5. Daryle Ward, 1B (.300, 0 HR, 4 RBI)
6. Michael Barrett, C (.263, 7 HR, 23 RBI)
7. Jacque Jones, RF (.260, 1 HR, 14 RBI)
8. Cesar Izturis, SS (.265, 0 HR, 5 RBI)
9. Carlos Zambrano, P (.250, 1 HR, 2 RBI)

Let's get the brooms, dust mops, Swifer sweepers, whatever and sweep the Sox back to the South Side!

[VanMan]

Hey guys, they're trying to name the bulldog that is the mascot of Comcast SportsNet. I guess you go to http://www.comcastsportsnet.com/chicago and submit your idea.

[VanMan]

Today's conditions are 47 degrees, cloudy, wind blowing in from left field at 12 mph. Considerable difference from yesterday.

[VanMan]

Zambrano to face Erstad to start the game. A tailing fastball misses outside. Another one is high and away, 2-0. Another one misses low and in, 3-0. And another one misses away, Erstad walks on four pitches.

[Drockvb]

4 pitches and a balls. :|

[VanMan]

Iguchi showed bunt, an off-speed pitch finds a piece of the zone for a called strike. He fouls the next pitch, 0-2. Iguchi lifts one to center, Pagan is under it, one out.

[VanMan]

Pierzynski takes an off-speed pitch for a strike on the outer portion. He turns on one foul, the pitch was up and in. Pierzynski had broken his bat on the swing, so the Sox backstop needs to get a new piece of lumber. He takes his time before the next pitch to get the bat. Tailing fastball is away, 1-2. Zambrano throws to Ward to chase back Erstad, he's in. Sinker fouled off. Pierzynski fouls a high pitch to the left, still 1-2. Grounder to Ramierez, over to Theriot, Erstad takes him out, but he's able to relay to Ward for the inning-ending double play. No hits, a walk and no one left.

Middle 1st, Sox 0, Cubs coming up

[VanMan]

Theriot is the first to face Masset. He takes a high fastball on the inner half for a strike. He then lifts a high liner to right. Dye thinks he has it covered, but he has to take a step or two back before he makes the catch.

[VanMan]

Pagan takes the first pitch high and away. Next pitch is away, 2-0. Ball three and ball four miss wide. Pagan walks on four pitches with one out.

[VanMan]

Soriano now up, but Masset throws over to first to keep Pagan close. First pitch is high and tight, fastball, missed. Soriano pulls one foul past third, 1-1. Pagan goes, they pitch out, Pierzynski throws, Pagan slides between Iguchi's legs ahead of the tag.

[VanMan]

Count is 2-1 after the steal. Soriano takes one wide. He swings and misses one outside, full count. The payoff is low and away, Soriano walks ahead of Ramirez. Two on, one out.

[VanMan]

Ramirez swings and misses a change up. He leads all NL third baggers in RBI with 32. Ramirez fouls one off, it's 0-2. Pierzynski wanted one high, Masset throws it there, but Ramirez doesn't offer. Pop fly to Dye for the second out. Ramirez knew it as soon as he hit it.

[VanMan]

Ward takes a tailing pitch away. Ward bloops one over Taguchi, base hit. Pagan around third to score, Soriano takes third on the play, it's 1-0 Cubs!

[VanMan]

Barrett swings at one off the plate outside, missed for a strike. The 0-1 is in the dirt, Pierzynski blocks it. Grounder to Crede, he's able to field it and throw over to Konerko for the final out. But the Cubs score one on one hit, two walks and two left.

End 1st, Cubs 1, Sox 0

[VanMan]

Dye takes a ball inside and high. He fouls one back to the screen, 1-1. Another tailing fastball high and in. Dye fouls a low and away pitch to the right-side stands, 2-2. Zambrano delivers another one high and tight, it's full. Dye fouls another one off, this time was high and inner-third. Grounder foul near third. Foul back and out of play, with a great catch in front of the press box, and the Cub fan gets a kiss from a Sox fan. Dye pops up just foul, Ward able to make the catch. Dye may have splintered the bat.

[VanMan]

Konerko takes one high. Slow breaking ball backdoors for a strike. Flat slider also called for a strike. Konerko pops one foul out of play. Change up in the dirt, 2-2. Another off-speed pitch is low, it's full. Change up/slider misses away, ball four.

[VanMan]

Mackowiak pops the first pitch foul off the ledge of the left field stands. Soriano could've made the catch, but he gave up on it. Broken-bat flare into right for a base hit. One out and two on.

[VanMan]

Crede lines the first pitch off the glove of Ramirez into left. Bases now loaded.

[VanMan]

Uribe takes a fastball wide. Sinker is swung and missed, 1-1. Grounder into right for a base hit, two runs will score, Konerko and Mackowiak, Crede advances to second. Sox now lead 2-1 with one out and two on.

[VanMan]

Masset tries to bunt, Ward lets the ball roll foul. This is Masset's first professional at bat. Bunts at one high and away, 0-2. He hasn't had any minor league or Major League ABs in his entire career. Bunted in front of the plate. Barrett fields, throws to first, Theriot fell over, but he's able to hold the pillow. Runners advance to second and third with two out.

[VanMan]

Joe West is calling for an usher to move a few fans from the batters eye who are wearing white and distracting either himself or the batters.

[VanMan]

Erstad with two out showed bunt, but the pitch missed away. He did bunt at the next pitch, and fouled it off. Chopped to Ward, unassisted at first. But the White Sox score two on three hits, a walk and two left.

Middle 2nd, Sox 2, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Jones grounds to Konerko, he knocks it down and is able to get it to Masset for the out.

[VanMan]

Izturis takes a ball down. He then grounds to Crede for the second out.

[VanMan]

Zambrano takes a strike at the knees. Off-speed pitch is swung and missed. Breaking ball high and tight, Z tried to sell that he got hit, but Country Joe West isn't buying it. He then grounds one foul. Tailing fastball is swung on and missed. Cubs do nothing.

End 2nd, Sox 2, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Iguchi grounds the first pitch back to Z, who's able to recover the deflection and throw to Ward for the put out.

[VanMan]

Pierzynski takes balls outside and one low. Fastball called strike one. He pops one off the hands in foul ground, Barrett able to make the catch.

[VanMan]

Dye takes one away. Tailing sinker finds the zone, 1-1. Dye flies one to deep center, Pagan looks up, and it finds the seats for a home run. 3-1 Sox.

[VanMan]

Konerko takes the first pitch away. Fastball catches the high-inside portion of the zone for a strike. Fouled off, it's 1-2. Konerko lifts one to right field, Jones under it for the final out. But the Sox add one more on the Dye home run.

Middle 3rd, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Theriot takes an off speed pitch for a strike. Next pitch is away, 1-1. Breaking ball over for a strike, it's 1-2. Theriot grounds one short down the third base line. Pierzynski picks it up bare hand, spins, throws to Konerko to just get Theriot.

[VanMan]

Pagan showed bunt, pulled back on an outside pitch. Next pitch is fouled out of play. Pitch is high and in, 2-1. Fouled back, 2-2. Pagan golfs one into center, Erstad there to make the catch. Two down, six straight retired by Masset.

[VanMan]

Soriano takes outside for a ball. He fouls one back, 1-1. Fastball catches the low-outside corner for a strike. Breaking ball freezes Soriano, and the Cubs do nothing again.

End 3rd, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

AFLAC Question:

Which White Sox pitcher gave up a grand slam to Ricky Gutierez in 2001?

Meanwhile, Mackowiack pops to Theriot for the first out.

[VanMan]

Pablo Ozuna batting for Crede, and he lifts the first pitch to Jones for the second out.

[VanMan]

Uribe takes the first pitch high. Slider drifts away, 2-0. Fastball over the plate, 2-1. Another fastball hits black, 2-2. Slider misses, full count. Fastball is swung on and missed. Sox do nothing.

Middle 4th, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

AFLAC answer:

Bobby Howry!

[VanMan]

Ramirez takes the first pitch for a strike. Next pitch is away, 1-1. He jerks a ground ball through the hole into left field for a hit. Breaks Masset's seven-out streak.

[VanMan]

Ward takes a called strike. Another fastball at the knees, 0-2. He fouls one off to left. Curve ball freezes Ward for the strikeout.

[VanMan]

Barrett fouls the first pitch off. Another foul ball on a low-outside pitch. Grounder to Uribe, over to Iguchi for one, turned to Konerko for the double play. Cubs get a hit but nothing else.

End 4th, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Masset takes a ball low and away. An off-speed pitch is over for a strike. Masset fouls one off, it's 1-2. Popped foul back. Masset swings and misses for the first out.

[VanMan]

Erstad takes a strike, and swings and misses a sinker. Erstad strikes out swinging on another sinker.

[VanMan]

Iguchi takes a fastball away. He swings and misses a fastball down the middle. Low and away, ball two. Iguchi fouls one off Barrett mask. He fouls another one off, still 2-2. Fastball at the knees, freezes Iguchi to retire the side. Sox do nothing, and Z's starting to get in his groove. Just need the offense to do something.

Middle 5th, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Jones takes a strike, then takes a breaker low and in. He then grounds to Konerko. He bobbles it but able to step on the bag. He and Jones come togehter, but no one gets hurt.

[VanMan]

Izturis takes a ball outside. He then fouls one off, 1-1. Lifted to shallow center, Erstad able to make the catch.

[VanMan]

Zambrano swings and misses the first pitch. Another swing and miss on an outside pitch. Z pops one foul. Masset misses low and in. Foul not handled by Pierzynski, still 1-2. Z lifts one to right field, but Dye does make the catch. Nothing doing for the Cubs again in the 5th.

End 5th, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Zambrano misses the first two pitches to Pierzynski. Pierzynski fouls one to the left. The 2-1 misses away. Pierzynski singles to left.

[VanMan]

Dye takes an off-speed pitch for a strike. He swings and misses, 0-2. Grounder to Izturis, over to Theriot for the first out, relay to Ward for the double play.

[VanMan]

First pitch to Konerko is taken for a strike. Zambrano's slider misses well away. Fastball at the knees, 1-2. Breaking ball misses away, 2-2. Fouled off to the left. Fastball just missed away, 96 mph, but it's full. Sidearmer is grounded to Izturis for the final out of the inning.

Middle 6th, Sox 3, Cubs 1

[VanMan]

Theriot takes a strike on the inner portion. Second pitch misses outside. Andrew Sisco is warming up for the Sox. Theriot grounds to Ozuna, able to knock it down, recover and throw out the lead-off hitter.

[VanMan]

Pagan takes a pitch low. Popped foul, Ozuna tried to make the catch over the camera well, but couldn't handle it. The 1-2 is inside. Pagan lies to Dye in right for the second out.

[VanMan]

Soriano lifts the first pitch to right. Dye can't get it!!!! Soriano around second and heads to third with a triple!!!!! A little two-out bingo!

[VanMan]

Ramirez up with two out and Soriano at third, takes a ball inside. He fouls one off into the Cub dugout, and Piniella makes a bare-handed catch. The 1-1 is too tight. Curve ball is high, 3-1. Fastball looked low, but Joe West made the strike call to fill it out. Curve is up high, putting runners on the corners. Ozzie is coming out of the Sox dugout to get Masset.

[VanMan]

Andrew Sisco will come in, tentatively to face Ward in a lefty-lefty match up. Let's see whether Lou will counter with Lee in this situation.

[VanMan]

Derek Lee is going to pinch hit for Ward!

[VanMan]

Lee fouls the first pitch back to the screen. The 0-1 is low and in. Ball gets away from Pierzynski. Ramirez goes to second, but Soriano holds. It's 2-1. Bob Rosenberg called it a "Wiiiild pitch." Another wild pitch gets away from Pierzynski! Soriano comes in to score!!! Ramirez to third! It's 3-2 Sox.

[VanMan]

3-1 to Lee, fouled off, it's full. The full-count pitch is low, runners again on first and third with two out for Barrett. Ozzie comes out to get McDougal to face Barrett. Now it's 3-2 Sox with two out in the Cub 6th.

[VanMan]

Mark DeRosa will pinch run for Lee. Barrett takes a fastball for a strike. Another fastball catches the inside corner, 0-2. Barrett grounds to Uribe, who tosses to Konerko to end the inning, but the Cubs score one on one hit and two walks. Two runners left on base.

End 6th, Sox 3, Cubs 2

[VanMan]

Mackowiak flies out on the first pitch to Soriano.

[VanMan]

Ozuna takes a ball away, then a strike on the outer half. He fouls one off to make it 1-2. Check swing, appeal to first, no swing, 2-2. Ozuna swings and misses for the second out.

[VanMan]

Uribe gets hit on the left hand on the first pitch.

[VanMan]

Jim Thome will pinch hit for McDougle. He fouls the first pitch back. Z pumps a fastball outer portion for a strike. The 0-2 is outside. Another off-speed pitch is outside, 2-2. Another one outside, full count. Cubs in an extreme pull shift, but Zambrano's been pitching him away. Pop up, foul, out of play. The next pitch misses away, Thome draws a walk.

[VanMan]

Erstad takes a pitch low for ball one. Zambrano pumps one over for a strike, it's 1-1. Erstad swings and misses a sinker. Fastball is away, 2-2. A flare to left, drops for a hit, Uribe rounds third and scores to make the tally 4-2 Sox.

[VanMan]

With Iguchi up, Barrett is unable to catch the slider for a passed ball. Thome advances to third, but Erstad stays at first. Iguchi then takes a strike. The 1-1 is outside, 2-1. Joe Crede had to leave with tightness in his lower back. Next pitch is upstairs, 3-1. Swing and a miss, 3-2. Erstad will be running on the pitch. Payoff pitch is high for ball four. Lou now coming out to get Neil Cotts to face Pierzynski with the bases loaded and the Sox up 4-2.

[VanMan]

Pierzynski fouls one out of play. He drives one deep to right-center, and he finds the basket for a grand slam! 8-2 Sox! Dag nabbit!!!

[VanMan]

Dye takes the first three bad ones. Cotts finds the zone for a strike. The 3-1 misses inside for a walk. The inning continues.

[VanMan]

Konerko hits one into the left-field corner for a double. Dye holds at third.

[VanMan]

Mackowiak swings at a very high pitch. Another swing and miss, 0-2. He then grounds one past DeRosa. Both runners score, throw to home is way off the mark, and Mackowiak advances to second. 10-2 Sox.

[VanMan]

11th man of the inning, Ozuna pops to Jones in shallow right to finally end the inning. Sox score seven runs on just four hits, three walks and a hit batter.

Middle 7th, Sox 10, Cubs 2

[VanMan]

Matt Thornton comes in for relief. Jones flies an 2-0 pitch to right, Dye is able to catch it.

[VanMan]

Izturis takes a strike inside corner. He then fouls one off. The 0-2 is outside. Izturis just lines one right at Thornton, and the pitcher catches it just before it became a cup check.

[VanMan]

Blanco pinch hits for Cotts, takes a strike. He then fouls one off. A breaking ball catches the zone and freezes Blanco for the final out of the inning.

End 7th, Sox 10, Cubs 2

[VanMan]

Carlos Marmol in to pitch for the Cubs. He has just one inning and one strikeout since being called up.

[Drockvb]

Letting former sox pitcher Cotts pitch to A.J. was a bad idea. I know it's easy to say after the fact, but i didn't like that idea before he even threw 1 pitch.

[VanMan]

Uribe takes one low and away. An off-speed pitch misses away, 2-0. Uribe fouls one off. Another foul to the screen. Slurve freezes Uribe for the called strikeout.

[VanMan]

Terrero pinch hits for Thornton, takes the first two high. Low and away, 3-0. And another one misses away for a four-pitch walk.

[VanMan]

Erstad takes a strike at the knees. The 0-1 is away. Erstad tried to check his swing on a low-in pitch, but Joe West said he went around. Fly to center, Pagan catches it for the second out.

[VanMan]

Iguchi grounds the first pitch foul. The 0-1 is away. Breaking ball away, 2-1. Another one low and away, 3-1. Fouled to the bricks, it's full. Iguchi flies to Jones in right to end the inning.

Middle 8th, Sox 10, Cubs 2

However, it's time for me to get changed to get ready for work. See you guys Tuesday night.