Tuesday MLB: Tampa Bay Rays (51-42) at Chicago White Sox (48-44) :WagerWeb Entertainment

Tuesday MLB: Tampa Bay Rays (51-42) at Chicago White Sox (48-44)

21 July 2009 176 views No Comment

The Chicago White Sox have had the Rays number this year, winning four of the first five meetings following Monday’s 4-3 win at U.S. Cellular Field.

Monday’s win was the first of 18 straight against teams with a winning record for Chicago. Paul Konerko had the big hit with a three-run homer as Chicago won for the 13th time in 19 games. He has nine home runs and 21 RBIs in his past 15 games.

But the White Sox also welcomed back Carlos Quentin on Monday.

Quentin, playing for the first time since tearing a tendon on May 25, received an ovation before his first at-bat and ran the bases and in left field without a limp. He went hitless in his first two at-bats before hitting a single to left in the sixth. He finished 1-for-4 and said running the bases was his biggest challenge because of the different angles of making turns.

“He did very well,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I’m glad with the way he performed and ran the bases, and hopefully he keeps it up.”

Guillen took out Quentin for defensive purposes in the ninth inning on Monday, moving Scott Podsednik to left and putting Dewayne Wise in center. Guillen will follow that plan for the immediate future.

“I have some soreness,” said Quentin, who has special orthotics made for his shoes. “Something I’ll just deal with, but it’s nothing compared to what I experienced in the past, before the injury and after the injury.”

Chicago is a slight +105 money line underdog because it starts struggling lefty Clayton Richard (3-3, 5.42). He is 1-2 with a 10.50 ERA and a .368 opponents’ average over his past five starts. He remains tough on lefties, allowing a .212 average, but right-handers eat him up, hitting .332. If Clayton struggles tonight, he is probably headed to the bullpen.

Tampa Bay starts Jeff Niemann (8-4, 3.73 ERA), who actually leads the team in wins and is tied with Detroit’s Rick Porcello for the most in MLB by a rookie. Niemann hasn’t pitched since July 10, when he blanked Oakland. Niemann has won four straight decisions and has lost only once in his past 11 starts.