Good buddies Garcia, Pineiro renew acquaintances on hill

What good can come out of a suspension for steroids?

For close friends Freddy Garcia and Joel Pineiro, it means theyget the rare opportunity to square off against each other in theWhite Sox' series opener tonight against the Seattle Mariners.

After pitcher Ryan Franklin was suspended for violating MajorLeague Baseball's drug policy, the Mariners were forced to altertheir rotation. Franklin was scheduled to pitch tonight, but Pineirowill move up a day.

Garcia and Pineiro were teammates with the Mariners and have beenpals ever since Pineiro's brief major-league stint in 2000. The twohave grown so close that Pineiro and his family will stay at Garcia'shouse this weekend at Garcia's insistence.

"At the All-Star break, we talked, and we noticed that I pitchedthe second game [of the second half] and he pitched the second game,"Garcia said. "We talked that we should be in line for the same day."

A little more fate was needed to make it happen. Now that it's onthe schedule, Garcia said no friendly wager was made, and the onlyextra incentive will be pride.

Pineiro was scheduled to arrive at Garcia's home Thursday night,so Garcia was asked if the two planned to have a good time long intothe night.

"We'll just be talking ... I don't know," Garcia said. "His familyis here, so we'll see what happens."

ON DECK:

MARINERS AT WHITE SOX

Tonight: 7:05, Comcast SportsNet, 1000-AM. Joel Pineiro (3-7, 6.06ERA) vs. Freddy Garcia (11-4, 3.76).

Saturday: 6:05 p.m., Comcast SportsNet, 1000-AM. Jamie Moyer (9-3, 4.33) vs. Mark Buehrle (12-4, 2.86).

Sunday: 2:05 p.m., Ch. 9, 1000-AM. TBA vs. Jon Garland (15-5,3.40).

The story line: The Sox will try to win a home series for thefirst time since July 4-6, when they swept the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.They have lost three home series since then and split another againstthe Boston Red Sox. The Mariners are the last preparation the Soxwill get before a six-game trip to New York and Boston.