PITTSBURGH _ All things being equal, Hector Santiago would rather pitch in the American League. And in AL parks.
Why? Because NL pitchers often get pulled for pinch hitters when runners are on base in tight games.
Take Wednesday, for example, a 3-2 loss to the Pirates.
Tied at 2 in the sixth, the White Sox had the bases loaded with two outs and Daniel Palka on the bench, so White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Santiago.
"That's where it sucks as a starting pitcher," Santiago said.
Palka could not come through, rolling over a 3-1 fastball for an inning-ending grounder to second.
"It was a heater a bit away, and I got in front of it," Palka said.
Asked if he was bummed because the situation was so ripe, Palka replied: "Not only that, but Hector threw a great game. I wanted to pick him up in his spot."
No one could have a beef with Renteria's decision, though. The Sox, always desperate for runs, had a chance to push several across.
"You hope you spark a little magic in that instance," Renteria said. "It didn't. (Palka) went in there with a good idea. Just didn't happen."
The Pirates went on to take the lead and eventual game-winner in the seventh when Josh Bell hit a single off reliever Joakim Soria to score Elias Diaz. Both of the White Sox's runs came off home runs by Leury Garcia and Yolmer Sanchez.
The Sox fell to a major-league-worst 10-29 and are back on pace to lose 120 games. The franchise record for losses is 106. The 2003 Tigers lost 119 in Stage 1 of their rebuild.
This game was at least competitive, unlike Tuesday night's 7-0 loss.
Asked if it represented a moral victory, Renteria answered in the affirmative: "I thought it was a much better game today and Hector did a really nice job, kept us there."
Santiago allowed just two hits and three walks over five innings, striking out a pair. The 30-year-old left-hander gave up both his runs when Sean Rodriguez lined a ball to left that eluded the glove of a diving Nicky Delmonico.
"He kept them off balance," Renteria said of Santiago. "He pitched with a lot of conviction, elevated when he needed to and threw enough quality strikes."
Santiago was told this was a spot start, but given that the Sox are in a stretch of 16 games in 16 days and Miguel Gonzalez remains sidelined with shoulder soreness, Santiago could earn at least two more tries.
Asked if he would rather pitch in the NL _ getting pulled for pinch-hitters _ or in the AL, having to face designated hitters, he replied: "I would rather face the DH. I think today I threw nine pitches to the pitchers, and seven were balls."
