John Danks will make his first start since landing on the disabled list on June 26th with a strained oblique on Wednesday as the White Sox take on the Royals in the rubber game of their series.
Danks, 3-8 with a 4.21 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, has largely managed to right the faltering ship that was his 2011 campaign. In his last four starts prior to his injury, Danks went 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA. He's had good luck against Kansas City over his career, going 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.20 WHIP across eight starts. Mike Aviles is 3-for-9 against Danks with a double, while Wilson Betemit is 2-for-3 with a home run.
Pitching for Kansas City will be Bruce Chen. Chen, 5-3 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, is coming off a start against Minnesota in which he gave up four runs on nine hits and three walks over just 5.1 innings pitched. In his last game against the White Sox, Chen got the win after giving up just one run on four hits and three walks over six innings, while striking out four. Juan Pierre was 2-for-3 in that game, while Alex Rios was 1-for-2.
The weather in Kansas City is expected to be sunny and hot, with a game time temperature in the low 90's. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on CSN and FSKC.