Buehrle looks to be as good as ever in win

Remember that game on May 7, when Mark Buehrle allowed 7 runs in 5 innings against the Minnesota Twins before being pulled?

Not only did Buehrle's ERA take a beating in the loss, so did the dugout space heater.

The White Sox' workhorse starting pitcher was feeling even more heat in his next start - against the Angels in Los Angeles.

After giving up 8 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits while again failing to make it out of the sixth inning, Buehrle was a worrisome 1-5 with a 5.81 ERA.

Suddenly, that four-year, $56-million contract extension Buehrle received last July was looking like a pretty bad deal - for the Sox.

Buehrle's slow start raised questions about his health, maybe even his eroding skills.

But as the wily left-hander showed during Sunday night's 5-1 win over the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field, he's as good as ever.

"I think it was pretty much the norm when you're facing Buehrle," said Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell, who took over as manager when Lou Piniella was ejected in the second inning.

"He works fast and has a great cutter. When guys are looking in, he throws it away. He has a sixth sense about pitching, like (Greg) Maddux. The guy's been a winner and a very good pitcher for a long time."

Buehrle admittedly wasn't very good at the start of the season, but after pitching 7 innings and allowing 1 unearned run against the Cubs, the 29-year-old pitcher evened his record at 6-6 while lowering his ERA to 3.79.

Buehrle is 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his last 5 starts.

"Today was probably the best my location's been," Buehrle said. "And I've been throwing the ball pretty well lately. It seems like in the games I was getting hammered, if you took one big inning away, I was fine."

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is just happy to have the old Buehrle back.

"He's throwing strikes and commanding the ball really well," Guillen said. "He's getting a lot of movement. Buehrle's been Buehrle. Earlier in the season, he was up in the strike zone a lot more and he was paying for it."

Now, Buehrle is making opposing hitters pay. And, as usual, he still has his sense of humor.

When asked about striking out the Cubs' Derrek Lee on a 90-mph fastball in the first inning, Buehrle had a story.

"On (Channel 32 Saturday, Matt) Thornton was throwing 96 and they were using flames on his pitches," Buehrle said. "I told him they were going to use icicles on mine."