Whether it’s the North Side or the South Side, there’s no place like home for a pair of Chicago hurlers. Since the start of the 2008 season, both White Sox ace Mark Buehrle and Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster have won 18 games before the hometown fans. No other major league pitcher can match them in home victories.

Dempster has gone 18-4 with a 3.22 ERA at Wrigley Field during this 16-month stretch. He won 10 of 11 home starts to open the 2008 campaign, going 10-0 before losing the final game of the first half. He’s also won six of his last seven home decisions, with the only loss coming at the hands of the White Sox on June 17.

Buehrle also was 18-4 at home over this span before the Yankees roughed him up for seven runs in an 8-5 home loss Sunday. His last home start prior to the Yankees’ ambush was his perfect game against Tampa Bay on July 23. The perfecto was the southpaw’s 15th win in his last 16 decisions at home, dating to the 2008 All-Star break, a stretch in which he had a 2.32 ERA.

With Buehrle’s loss on Sunday, it’s Dempster who has the highest winning percentage among pitchers with at least a dozen home wins since the start of the 2008 season.

Highest Winning Percentage by a Pitcher at Home, 2008-09
(minimum 12 home victories in this span)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W-L. . . . Pct
Ryan Dempster, ChC . . . . . . 18-4. . . . .818
Nick Blackburn, Min. . . . . . .13-3. . . . .813
Jon Lester, Bos. . . . . . . . . .16-4. . . . .800
Tim Lincecum, SF. . . . . . . . .15-4. . . . .789
Kevin Slowey, Min. . . . . . . . 15-4. . . . .789
Mark Buehrle, CWS. . . . . . . 18-5. . . . .783