--3B Josh Fields and RF Jermaine Dye, who were each struck in the hand by Texas pitches last weekend, returned to the starting lineup. Dye missed two games, while Fields only missed Monday's game against Kansas City. Manager Ozzie Guillen had originally ruled Fields out for the Royals series with problems gripping the bat, but treatment on the bruised hand went better than anticipated Tuesday afternoon, and Fields wanted to give it a go. They obviously were ready to play; each homered in his second at-bat.
--LHP Mark Buehrle is quietly putting together a solid start to his season, going 4-0 with a 3.30 ERA through his first five starts. But the White Sox need Buehrle to be the staff ace more than they first anticipated at the end of camp, as he is the only starter not showing inconsistencies from start to start. Facing the Tigers on Wednesday is a good place for Buehrle to continue his winning ways, as he has a 13-8 record and 2.98 ERA in 26 career games against the Tigers. As far as all the concerns about Buehrle's health, those have all gone silent. --RHP Jose Contreras will get at least one more chance to try and get out of his season-long rut, but Thursday against Detroit might be his last start. "Just give him the next start and then we figure out," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We talk about Jose more than anyone the last couple weeks. That's the conversation of the day. Hopefully, like I say earlier, the stuff is there. There's no doubt. Maybe a lack of concentration, maybe a bad mistake at the wrong time. He made one mistake, and all of a sudden, everything goes south. He can't recover from that. We have to be better than that."
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Career grand slams hit by A.J. Pierzynski, which ties him with Jorge Posada for the most among active catchers.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This feels good. Like I said earlier, I just wanted to come in and contribute something. And I did. I felt relatively comfortable. The battle will be not to try to press and do too much." --- OF Scott Podsednik, after going 2-for-4 and scoring the winning run in his 2009 debut with the Sox on May 1.
