The White Sox have won 23 of their last 28 games and it's due in large part to their pitching. Mark Buehrle, who shutout the Royals in 114 pitches last night, has gone 5-1 in his last six decisions.
On Friday night, the easy way to explain the White Sox 8-2 drubbing of the Royals is that Buehrle had it and Royals starter Bruce Chen didn't. That's the story coming from both sides:
Ned Yost on Buehrle:
“We tried to get his pitch count up and we were successful at that a little in the early innings but he got settled down, started banging strikes, kept the ball down real low and was getting the low strike called for him which helped him a lot,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Buehrle.
Buehrle on Buehrle:
“I just had to make pitches. Every inning guys were getting on base,” Buehrle said. “It’s just one of those things where you just kind of find it as the game goes along.”
Yost on Bruce Chen:
“Bruce didn’t have it tonight,” Yost said. “After his last start, Bruce got strep throat and was battling that. He started to feel better (Thursday), but there was not much life on his fastball.”
Chen on Chen:
“Obviously, I felt fine enough to pitch,” he said. “I don’t think that affected me once I was out there. We’re trying to win ballgames, and I don’t think it’s fair to my teammates to go out there if I’m not feeling 100 percent. I just got beat.”