Blue Jays Borucki goes for first career win vs. White Sox
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ryan Borucki grew up in the Chicago suburbs idolizing the White Sox and southpaw Mark Buehrle.
"Man, I loved Buehrle," Borucki said to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Now that Borucki has reached the big leagues, he wears No. 56, just like Buehrle did.
The Blue Jays' 24-year-old left-hander (0-2, 2.79 ERA) will go for his first career victory when the Blue Jays wrap up a three-game series against the White Sox on Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field. The teams split the first two games of the series with Toronto winning the opener 10-5 and Chicago rallying for a 9-5 win Saturday night.
The contest will mark Borucki's sixth career start. He has walked 10 and struck out 23 in his first 29 innings.
Toronto (47-56) is going for only its second series win this month.
Meanwhile, Chicago (37-67) will attempt to win back-to-back games after dropping the previous three in a row. Pinch hitter Daniel Palka helped the White Sox even the series on Saturday with a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning off Blue Jays reliever Ryan Tepera.
Avisail Garcia will try to stay hot at the plate after going 2-for-4 with an RBI Saturday. The 27-year-old outfielder has 10 home runs in his past 88 plate appearances and is hitting .282 on the season.
White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson said Garcia has made great strides at the plate.
"Right now, once you walk up to that on-deck circle and say, 'This is what I want to do and this is where I want to see it,' if you get it, you are able to pull the trigger," Steverson said to the team's official website. "That's the majority of the battle, really. It's not getting stuck. He's free of mind when he sees a pitch he wants to swing at, going for it."
Borucki could enjoy the element of surprise, having never faced Garcia.
The White Sox will counter with left-hander Carlos Rodon (3-3, 3.38 ERA), who will make his ninth start of the year. The 25-year-old started the season on the disabled list but has pitched well since being activated, and he figures to be part of the team's long-term plan as it goes through a comprehensive rebuild.
Rodon has walked 20 and struck out 43 in 50 2/3 innings this season. His 1.11 WHIP rate is the best mark of his four-year career.
In one career start against the Blue Jays, Rodon is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA. He gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
One player who is hoping to continue his historic hot streak is Toronto shortstop Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who has multiple hits in 10 consecutive games. That is a franchise record, eclipsing the former mark of nine straight games set by Tony Fernandez in 1986.
Gurriel, 24, is the first player in baseball with multiple hits in 10 straight games since Bernie Williams in 2002. He is hitting .312 on the season with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 37 games during his rookie campaign.
