Buehrle struggles in loss to Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When he was pulled from Monday night's start against the Angels with two outs in the sixth inning, Mark Buehrle calmly made his way into the White Sox' dugout.
The left-handed starting pitcher laid his hat and glove down, put on his jacket and took a seat.
That was quite a contrast to Buehrle's previous outing. After yielding 7 runs on 9 hits in 5 1/2 innings during a loss to the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field, Buehrle grabbed one of Juan Uribe's bats and attacked the dugout space heater.
More Coverage Links Pudge back as 'ambassador' Same old Garland No news in the clubhouse?
But don't be fooled by Monday's change of emotion -- it was another bad night for Buehrle.
Staked to leads of 3-0 and 4-2, Buehrle couldn't hold either one while allowing 8 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits over 5Ãâ#128;šÃ#130;circ;iquest; innings.
While the offense some life, the White Sox fell to Los Angeles 10-7 at Angel Stadium.
The defense didn't give Buehrle much help -- third baseman Joe Crede made an error that led to 2 unearned runs and shortstop Orlando Cabrera and second baseman Juan Uribe both failed to make plays on fairly routine groundballs in the fifth inning, but the Sox would have been better off intentionally walking Vladimir Guerrero in the fifth.
After Sean Rodriguez and Gary Matthews led off the inning with consecutive infield singles, Manny Aybar sacrificed both runners up a base to bring Guerrero to the plate.
The Sox led 4-2, and with a base open, it looked like an opportune time to give the dangerous Guerrero a pass.
Instead, the Angels' star right fielder turned on an inside pitch and hit a 3-run homer to put L.A. in front for good.
"With a base open, I just have to do a better job pitching around him,'' Buehrle said. "You take that pitch back and we win the game. I have to be more careful there.''
Buehrle said he lost just about all of his confidence in 2006 while going 12-13 with a career worst 4.99 ERA. After Monday's loss, he is 1-5 with a 5.81 ERA, but the frustration level is still manageable.
"I don't think this is similar to (2006),'' Buehrle said. "They were hitting the ball hard, and I don't think that's happening now. I keep saying it all evens out.''
At least the offense came around.
The Sox jumped to the early lead, and after falling behind 10-4, they answered back with 2 runs in the eighth inning and 1 in the ninth.
A.J. Pierzynski came up with two outs in the ninth inning as the tying run and took a called third strike from Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez.
"We battled, had a lot of guys on base and never quit,'' Pierzynski said. "We just came up a little short.''