The White Sox and Mariners are two of the surprise teams this season in baseball. The White Sox, picked by many to win the AL Central, are seven games out of first and are coming off a disappointing series against the Detroit Tigers. The Seattle Mariners (31-28) on the other hand are having a fantastic season. The Mariners enter Monday's series opener just 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
Starting for the Sox on Monday evening will be John Danks. Danks comes in 0-8 with an ERA of 5.25. Things can't get much worse for Danks this season. In his last start, he gave up nine runs on nine hits in just four innings of work. The one positive for Danks and the Sox is that the lefty is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.13 in his last five starts against Seattle.
Michael Pineda will start for the Mariners in the series opener. Pineda has been excellent this season and two months in to the season has to be a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. He is 6-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.30 and a WHIP of 1.00. This will be Pineda's first start against the White Sox.
The weather forecast at the time of first pitch is temps in the upper 80's under partly cloudy skies. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 CST. The game can be seen on CSN.