With Mark Buehrle on the Hall of Fame ballot, here are a few more notes about his career

Mark Buehrle

Objectively speaking, Mark Buehrle is a longshot candidate to make the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is a White Sox great, without a doubt, but I'm not entirely sure he'll get the 5% of votes needed to remain on the Hall ballot in this, his first year of eligibility.

But here a few notes that might cause voters to more strongly consider Buerhle's Hall case:

1. In the history of baseball, there have been four pitchers who have thrown two no-hitters and posted at least 15 double-digit-win seasons: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Warren Spahn and ... Mark Buehrle.

2. In the history of baseball, there have been four pitchers who have thrown 200 or more innings in 14 consecutive seasons: Greg Maddux, Phil Niekro, Christy Mathewson and ... Mark Buehrle.

3. In the history of baseball, there have been three pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter, pitched a perfect game and won a World Series all with the same team: Cy Young, Sandy Koufax and ... Mark Buehrle.

What do Ryan, Johnson, Spahn, Maddux, Niekro, Mathewson, Young and Koufax all have in common? They are all in the Hall of Fame. In fact, the only pitcher mentioned in this blog entry who is not in the Hall of Fame is ... Mark Buehrle.

Chris Sale latest dominant outing puts him in elite company

The White Sox didn't exactly tear it up offensively on Monday night, managing just three runs on four hits against the Houston Astros.

Fortunately for the South Siders, it was Chris Sale's night to pitch, and three runs were more than enough.

Sale (6-2) struck out 14, walked just one and allowed but five hits in eight innings of one-run ball as the Sox defeated the Astros, 3-1. The left-hander has struck out 49 and walked but four in 30.2 innings over his last four starts.

Here's the fun fact about this recent Sale hot streak: He has struck out 12 or more batters in each of his last three outings, while allowing one run or less in all three.

This is a feat that has been accomplished only one other time in baseball since 1900. Sandy Koufax did it his last three starts of the 1965 season.

Yeah, that's pretty good company for Sale.

Game 4 of the NLDS shapes up as a defining moment for Clayton Kershaw

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is widely considered the best pitcher in baseball. We'll make no argument to the contrary.

Kershaw's performance over the past four seasons has been without peer. This year, he finished 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA. He claimed his fourth consecutive National League ERA title, and that 1.77 mark was nearly half a run better than his closest competitor. He is a lock to win his third NL Cy Young award in the last four years.

Kershaw had a 1.83 ERA during the 2013 campaign, so that means he is just the second pitcher in the live-ball era to post an ERA of 1.85 or less in consecutive seasons. Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is the other.

Yes, Kershaw is the best in the game right now.

But you know what has eluded him to this point in his career? Postseason success. I've heard some people compare Kershaw to another former Dodgers' lefty, Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. Some say Kershaw may go down as the best pitcher to play in the live-ball era once he's all done. Who am I to say he can't do that? But if he is going to be considered better than Koufax, he better figure out a way to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs.

The Cardinals will take a 2-1 series lead over the Dodgers into Tuesday's Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Kershaw is taking the ball on three days' rest. The season is on the line for the favored Dodgers.

Normally, a team feels pretty good about sending its ace out there in a must-win game, but Kershaw's postseason numbers are inexplicably terrible.

In 10 postseason games (7 starts), he's 1-4 with a 5.20 ERA. He has lost each of his last three playoff starts, all against the Cardinals. In two of those outings, he got bombed.

Kershaw went to the mound in a similar situation in Game 6 of last year's NLCS. The Cardinals were up 3-2 in the series, at home and looking to clinch. St. Louis roughed up Kershaw to the tune of seven earned runs on 10 hits over four innings. The Cardinals won, 9-0, and advanced to the World Series.

In Game 1 of this NLDS, Kershaw was staked to a 6-1 lead. He coughed up the whole thing, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings pitched. The Cardinals rallied to win, 10-9.

In Kershaw's last two playoff starts, he's allowed 15 earned runs on 18 hits over 10.2 innings pitched. Those aren't numbers you would associate with someone whose name is being mentioned alongside some of the all-time greats.

Most experts picked the Dodgers to win this series, because they figured the combination of Kershaw and teammate Zack Greinke would be too much for the Cardinals to handle. Greinke did his part in Game 2, a 3-2 Dodgers victory, and he's poised to pitch Game 5 back in Los Angeles if Kershaw can lead the Dodgers to a win in Game 4.

This game is a defining moment for Kershaw. His postseason failures are a black mark on an otherwise brilliant resume. As of this writing, we're just three hours from the first pitch of Game 4. I'll be interested to see how Kershaw responds in this pressure-packed start.