Porter managing lineup against southpaws

HOUSTON -- With four White Sox southpaws starting against the Astros, manager Bo Porter has some tough lineup decisions to make until Monday.

It began with Friday's opener, as catcher Jason Castro and first baseman Carlos Pena were each held out of the lineup with ace left-hander Chris Sale on the hill.

"You have to pick your spots and figure out, with Castro and Pena being everyday guys even against lefties, what day you're going to give them off," Porter said. "Sale is obviously rough on lefties, so tonight was the day. I wanted to run a right-handed-heavy run at them."

With Thursday's off-day, Castro and Pena both get two days of rest. Chris Carter started at first and batted fifth, while Carlos Corporan caught in Castro's place and hit fourth.

Left-handed hitters entered batting just .075 against Sale this season, with only four hits in 53 at-bats. Castro and Pena are hitting .135 and .256, respectively, against southpaws. Pena is actually hitting 33 points better against lefties than righties this season.