Shaun Marcum has done nothing but impress the Blue Jays since the club decided to move him into the starting rotation. Since leaving the bullpen, Marcum has gone 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts for Toronto, which owns a 3-1 record in those games.
On Sunday, Marcum will have a chance to clinch a series victory over the White Sox, who have lost six of their last seven contests. In his four starts, the 25-year-old right-hander has tallied 21 strikeouts and allowed just 12 hits over 25 innings.
In his last outing, Marcum earned a no-decision in a strong performance against the Yankees on Tuesday. He turned in six shutout innings and only yielded two hits. Marcum struck out six, marking the third time he's notched at least that many strikeouts in his four starts.
Chicago will counter with left-hander John Danks, who has never faced Toronto, which has gone 13-8 since losing nine in a row at the beginning of May. It took until his ninth big-league start, but Danks finally looked like a rookie during a loss to Minnesota in the Metrodome on Tuesday night.
The southpaw, who previously had shown the composure of a veteran, allowed six earned runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings. Danks walked four, gave up two home runs and didn't strike out a batter in the shortest outing of his career. He was 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his previous four outings.
Pitching matchup
CWS: LHP John Danks (3-5, 4.59 ERA)
Danks has gone 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in five starts on the road this season.
TOR: RHP Shaun Marcum (2-2, 3.70 ERA)
Right-handed batters have posted a .137 average versus Marcum this year.
Player to watch
Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill has hit .421 (8-for-19) with one home run and seven RBIs through the first six games of the current homestand. Hill went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in Toronto's win on Saturday.
