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Chicago White Sox aim to pad their lead atop the American League's Central Division and shoot for a three-game sweep of the wayward
Kansas City Royals in tonight's series finale from U.S. Cellular Field.
Chicago needed some additional time to dispose of the Royals on Wednesday, with Paul Konerko ending a 15-inning marathon with a two-run homer that lifted the White Sox to a 6-4 decision.
Konerko followed a leadoff walk to Carlos Quentin by belting the first pitch he saw off Jimmy Gobble over the left-field wall. The blast gave Chicago its second straight victory following three consecutive losses at Tampa Bay over the weekend.
Jim Thome and Joe Crede also homered and knocked in two runs for the White Sox, who had a chance to win the contest in regulation but faltered in the ninth inning.
Closer Bobby Jenks came on in the ninth to protect a 4-2 lead, but allowed back-to-back singles to begin the frame before Esteban German moved both runners over with a bunt. David DeJesus followed with a two-run single to tie the score.
Relievers Boone Logan and Octavio Dotel combined to hold Kansas City scoreless over the game's final five innings, with Dotel (3-2) tossing 2 2/3 frames of hitless ball to notch the victory.
White Sox starter John Danks was in line for the win after he surrendered just two runs over the first 5 2/3 innings. Both runs the young left-hander allowed came on solo homers by Miguel Olivo and Mark Teahen.
The loss was Kansas City's 14th in its last 16 contests and 11th in a row on the road, the club's longest skid in away games since it dropped 12 consecutive road tilts from April 11-May 3, 2006.
Chicago has also dominated the Royals at home in recent years, having amassed a 23-7 record as the host in this series since 2005. The White Sox took six of nine encounters with Kansas City in Chicago last season and went 12-6 overall against the Royals in 2007
Things don't figure to get any easier for the Royals tonight, considering the way Jose Contreras has been pitching lately.
The veteran right-hander, who takes the mound for Chicago in the finale, has yielded two runs or less in five straight starts and owns an excellent 2.89 earned run average on the season. He has outstanding once again in Friday's 2-1 setback at Tampa Bay, limiting the Rays to one run and five hits in a seven-inning no-decision.
Contreras also did not factor in the decision of the White Sox' 3-2 victory over Anaheim on May 25, a game in which he struck out a season-best 10 batters and gave up just three hits in eight innings. The 36-year-old had won three straight starts prior to that outing.
The Cuban defector also owns an 8-4 record with a 3.41 ERA over 15 lifetime starts against Kansas City.
The Royals will hand the ball tonight to Gil Meche, who is winless (0-2) over his last three starts but hasn't pitched badly over that stretch.
Meche allowed just four runs in a combined 13 innings during back-to-back tough road losses to Boston and Toronto on May 20 and 25, then threw a decent five frames in Friday's no-decision versus Cleveland. Meche struck out six Indians on the night while surrendering three runs on six hits.
The Kansas City ace has had good career success against Chicago, having compiled a 6-2 record with a 4.09 ERA over 12 overall starts versus the White Sox. Meche has also posted a respectable 3.58 ERA on the road this season, despite only a 2-3 record in his six away starts.
