Pitcher Shaun Marcum has ended five consecutive seasons with winning records and will look to make it a sixth with another win on his record Wednesday night as the New York Mets travel to take on the Chicago White Sox at 8:10 p.m. ET.
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Via ESPN:
"It's been a three-month ordeal for me," said Marcum, signed by the Mets this year after two winning seasons with Milwaukee and three for Toronto.
Marcum (0-9, 5.76 ERA) has lost four straight starts for New York (30-43). A lack of offensive help has been a problem all season, as his 2.43 run support average would be the lowest in the majors if he had thrown enough innings to qualify. However, Marcum hasn't done much to help himself in his last two outings, posting a 9.58 ERA.
He had a season-high four walks and allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings of last Wednesday's 5-3 loss in Atlanta. It was his shortest start since May 10.
"He's had some rough starts, but he's also pitched very well at times," manager Terry Collins said.
The good news for Marcum is that he's always fared well versus the White Sox, though he hasn't faced them since 2010. All five starts he made against them were Toronto victories as he went 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA. Chicago is the only AL team to which he's never lost besides Texas.
The White Sox (32-42) nearly suffered an ugly loss Tuesday, when Gordon Beckham flubbed a pop-up in the ninth inning to allow the tying run to come home for the Mets. However, Alexei Ramirez's RBI single in the bottom of the inning gave Chicago a 5-4 win.
"You're at a loss to describe it," manager Robin Ventura said. "At least they gathered together and scored a run in the next inning. But it's just a communication thing, and you got to clean it up."
