Sox turn to their 'ace' for Game 2

The numbers this season for Mark Buehrle are stark.

At home, the White Sox left-hander has dominated with a 11-3 record.

On the road, it's a different story as Buehrle has looked like anything but an ace as he struggled to a 4-9 mark.

So, it came as a bit of a surprise earlier this week when White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tabbed Buehrle to start Game 2 tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"I kind of thought, if they were going to look at that, I know I've been a lot better at home than on the road," Buehrle said. "But that last road trip, I had 3 starts and threw pretty well."

Home record, road record - it doesn't matter to Guillen when it comes to his veteran lefty.

"Mark is, to me, our ace," Guillen said. "He's pitched a lot of big games for us."

None bigger than his last outing Sunday, a victory against Cleveland that kept the Sox' postseason hopes alive.

"I think the reason we are in the playoffs is because of the way he's performed for a month," Guillen said. "A lot of people talk about (Johan) Santana and (CC) Sabathia coming out on three days' rest like five different times. He did it too, but no one gave him any credit."

The fact that he's a lefty should be beneficial against the Rays, who were only 25-24 in games started by southpaws this season.

"That's the reason we put (John) Danks against them (in Game 3)," Guillen said.

The Sox skipper said he toyed with the idea of starting Buehrle for the opener Thursday, but opted for Javier Vazquez instead.

And now that Vazquez stumbled en route to a loss, there once again will be a lot riding on Buehrle's shoulders.

"Buehrle's been there for us all year, and hopefully he'll be there for us (today)," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said.