Sale aiming for record ninth straight game with double-digit strikeouts

CHICAGO -- Chris Sale has a chance to stand alone in major league history when he takes the mound for the Chicago White Sox on Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.

The ace left-hander has struck out at least 10 hitters in eight straight starts and is vying to become the only pitcher in the majors to ever do that in nine straight outings. He's currently tied with Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, who is the only other pitcher to accomplish that feat in the big leagues.

Regardless, Sale isn't satisfied with his ascension to star pitcher status. Asked recently if he still feels he can improve, he didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm going to try," he said. "That's what everyone does. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're at in your career, what you've done up until then. Every time you take the ball, you try to do better than the last time out. You just try to keep getting better, however that is."

Sale will be pitching with an extra day's rest after manager Robin Ventura decided to give his scheduled start Sunday against the Orioles to left-handed rookie Carlos Rodon. Ventura said there's no health concern that drove him to make the decision, but it does set up a fun matchup for White Sox fans on Monday.

Mark Buehrle will pitch for the Blue Jays in his annual homecoming to Chicago, where he made some history of his own for the White Sox. Buehrle threw a no-hitter and a perfect game at U.S. Cellular Field as the White Sox's ace and was their No. 1 starter in 2005, when they won the World Series.

He also tutored Sale for a season, before leaving as a free agent.

"We didn't do it for this (matchup)," Ventura said of pushing Sale back. "We did it more for Chris. It ends up being a nice game that our fans should enjoy. Mark he should be celebrated for everything that he's done here. He's meant a lot to Chris and a lot of these guys that are in here in mentor fashion of the guy that can show you how to grab the ball and pitch and get it done."

Sale learned from Buehrle how working quickly on the mound can be advantageous for pitchers. Now, they each work fast and mow through their starts in record time.

"It should be fun," Ventura said. "It should be fast too."