NewsRotation altered following rainout
Danks moved between Colon and ContrerasBy Scott Merkin / MLB.com
04/14/09 2:37 PM ET
DETROIT -- Tuesday's postponement in this three-game set between the White Sox and Tigers at Comerica Park led to a few slight rotation alterations for the South Siders.Jose Contreras will stay on his regular turn for Wednesday afternoon's finale, opposed by Armando Galarraga, while John Danks, the originally scheduled starter for Tuesday, will open the four-game set against the Rays in St. Petersburg on Thursday night. The left-handed Danks threw a light side session on Tuesday and will now face a Rays lineup featuring left-handed power such as Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Akinori Iwamura.
"That was a little bit of it," said White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper of the rotation adjustment. "A little bit of Rays against lefties and these guys [Detroit] against righties."
Bartolo Colon moves back to Friday's contest, followed by Mark Buehrle on Saturday and Gavin Floyd on Sunday. Contreras comes back for Tuesday's series opener in Baltimore, but factoring in Monday's off-day, the switches give every starter an extra day of rest before their next time to the mound.
These moves also place Danks in between Contreras and Colon in the starting five, which could be important to the bullpen as the veteran hurlers continue to build up their mound endurance and stamina.
"You guys were all worried early on about the separation of Colon and Contreras. We've done that for you," said Cooper with a wry smile. "We talked the last couple years about giving Buehrle an extra day, and we thought Colon and Contreras would also benefit."
Chris Getz should be back in the White Sox lineup on Wednesday, with manager Ozzie Guillen stating the second baseman needed another day of rest and recovery after getting struck by a Craig Breslow pitch around the right elbow on Sunday against Minnesota. Brian Anderson also figures to be in the lineup, replacing the injured Dewayne Wise in center field.
No makeup date was announced for Tuesday's game, but the White Sox make two more trips to Detroit from July 24-26 and from Oct. 2-4 to conclude the regular season. They also have a mutual off-day on June 22, when the Tigers are in the middle of a homestand and the White Sox will be traveling from Cincinnati to start a homestand against the Dodgers and Cubs.
"They want to play in better weather," said Guillen, referring to Tuesday's postponement, although the rain stopped shortly after the game was canceled. "You don't want anybody to get hurt."
Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
