The Arizona Diamondbacks (38-32) play host to an American League team for the second time this season. The Chicago White Sox (33-37) will see if they can't do better than their AL Central mates, the Minnesota Twins who were swept out of Chase Field in May.
That series with the Twins was just a tiny taste of the AL. The D-backs now start a stretch of 15 games of Interleague Play with nine of those on the road and that means the dreaded DH.
There's already some chatter that the Snakes could call up big slugger Wily Mo Pena to serve in that role. He's been tearing it up in Reno with 21 homeruns and .739 slugging percentage. Some even think he deserves more of a shot than Sean Burroughs who's hit well off Gibson's bench.
Forget Sean Burroughs. What About Wily Mo Pena? - Beyond the Box Score
This isn't to say that we shouldn't be applauding Burroughs for his impressive return. What he's done is incredibly impressive. But frankly, it's not remotely as impressive as what Pena is doing.Burroughs is getting more attention right now because of his recent call-up, but I wouldn't be surprised if Pena ends up turning more heads in the end. For all of the hype that Sean Burroughs has gotten early in this season, I'd argue that he hasn't been the most impressive former prospect on the Reno Aces so far this season. That would be one Wily Mo Pena.
All that will have to wait for next week. These next three games will be played by the good ole National League rules which should suit the White Sox Friday starter just fine. You'll remember Edwin Jackson and his no-hitter from last season against the Rays. He's quite the gamer but trading him for Daniel Hudson AND prospect David Holmberg with his 27-inning scoreless streak seems like is a steal.
We'll welcome Edwin back and miss him a bit, but no regrets on that deal. Here's the pitching probables for the series.
- Friday: Daniel Hudson (7-5, 3.82) vs. Edwin Jackson (4-5, 4.39)
- Saturday: Zach Duke (1-1, 4.56) vs. John Danks (2-8, 4.54)
- Sunday: Josh Collmenter (4-2, 1.86) vs. Phil Humber (6-3, 2.95)
Friday's game is at 6:40 p.m. while Saturday's starts at 5:10 p.m. and Sunday at 1:10 for Father's Day.
AZ Snake Pit explains the extended trade history between the White Sox and Diamondbacks:
Series Preview #24: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago White Sox - AZ Snake Pit
Following a thrilling walk-off victory that transformed a pivotal series against the Giants from "disastrous" to simply "meh," the Diamondbacks host the Chicago White Sox as interleague play begins in earnest.I'll level with you guys for a minute: I don't so much think of White Sox as an opposing team, as I think of them as the D-Backs' five-year pen-pal. Except that rather than periodically exchanging notes with banal pleasantries every year or so, the D-Backs and White Sox exchange baseball players.
Since the end of 2005, the Diamondbacks and White Sox have made four major trades that have influenced the paths of both franchises.