From yesterday:
Gavin Floyd struck out nine in seven scoreless innings -- his second good start in a row -- and Alex Rios homered to lead the White Sox past Minnesota and 1 12 games clear of Cleveland atop the AL Central. In the process, Floyd brought his ERA back below 5, and Minnesota's middle-of-the-pack offense shouldn't be used to dismiss his outing. After the game, Alex Rios talked about Floyd's outing and his game:
Adam Dunn struck out twice and went hitless for the fifth straight game, dropping his batting average to .202. While his OBP is still at .353, he's slumped hard in the last 10 or so days, although he feels it's just part of the normal ebb and flow of a season. Jim at South Side Sox also has a good take on Dunn in the context of Kevin Youkilis.
For more of Dunn, be sure to tune in to the Dan Patrick Show (8-11 a.m., Comcast SportsNet) this morning, on which Dunn will be a guest. We'll also have Dunn's interview on CSNChicago.com later in the day.
A.J. Pierzynski will be back in Wednesday's lineup after getting Tuesday night off, as manager Robin Ventura wanted to get Pierzynski in against Twins starter Nick Blackburn this afternoon.
Kevin Youkilis may be tired from his whirlwind last few days, but he did get a kick out of being mentioned by Barack Obama the other day. And hey, if an exhausted Youkilis can make the play he did in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game, we can only wonder what he'll do when well-rested.
Orlando Hudson dished on his transition to playing for the White Sox, called out Adam Dunn for, um, cropdusting and compared himself to Denzel Washington in this week's episode of Big Hurt TV:
MLB
Nestor Molina underwent a precautionary MRI on his right elbow in Chicago and was placed on the disabled list with Double-A Birmingham, although whatever issue he's dealing with isn't considered serious. Perhaps some rest would do Molina good, though, as the 23-year-old has struggled to re-gain the form he showed in Toronto's organization last season.
Speaking of struggling minor leaguers, Jared Mitchell has seemingly hit a wall in Double-A, and David Kaplan isn't sure he sees a major leaguer in the White Sox 2009 first-round pick. Strikeouts are a glaring issue for Mitchell, but it's worth noting that his OBP is still at .382 despite his recent slump.
Last note: Kosuke Fukudome was released after being designated for assignment on Friday.
Around the division: Both Cleveland and Detroit lost, while Bruce Chen and the Royals downed Tampa Bay.