(Best E Casino) - The top two teams in the American League Central tangle tonight at the Metrodome, where the
Minnesota Twins hope to close the gap on the first-place Chicago White in the opener of a key four-game series.
Chicago comes in with a 2 1/2-game advantage on the Twins for the top spot but will be facing a Twins squad that has been dominant at home as of late. Minnesota has won 15 of its last 18 games at the Metrodome and is an outstanding 34-19 as the host this season. Ron Gardenhire's club has not lost a series at home since dropping two of three tests to Baltimore from June 3-5.
The White Sox are 24-28 on the road this year, compared to a 35-16 mark at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Twins weren't as successful during their six-game road trip that ended on Sunday. Minnesota lost the first four contests of the trek before rebounding for a pair of wins over Cleveland, including yesterday's 4-2 decision.
Minnesota snapped a 2-2 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday. Alexi Casilla smacked a ground-rule double with one out and scored the go-ahead tally on Justin Morneau's two-out two-bagger. Morneau later scored on a Jason Kubel single to give the Twins a two-run cushion.
All-Star closer Joe Nathan preserved the lead with a perfect bottom of the ninth to notch his 28th save of the season. Matt Guerrier (6-4) picked up the win despite allowing the tying run to score in the eighth.
Nick Blackburn worked the first seven innings for Minnesota and held the Indians to one run and just four hits.
Chicago got its current 10-game road trip off to a strong start by winning the first two matchups of a three-game series with division-rival Detroit. The Tigers did avert the sweep, however, with a 6-4 win on Sunday.
White Sox starter Javier Vazquez (7-9) allowed all six Detroit runs and was reached for 11 hits, including a pair of homers, in his seven-inning stint.
Jermaine Dye finished 2-for-3 and homered for a third straight day in the loss. The Chicago right fielder is batting .455 (10-for-22) with seven RBI and seven runs scored during a six-game hitting streak.
A.J. Pierzynski also homered for Chicago, while Jim Thome knocked in a pair of runs with an eighth-inning single.
Mark Buehrle attempts to build on his outstanding career numbers against Minnesota when the White Sox mainstay takes the mound this evening. The veteran lefty is 21-11 with a 3.78 earned run average over 35 games (33 starts) versus the Twins and twirled eight innings of one-run ball to defeat tonight's opponent in Chicago on June 7.
That victory started off a string of strong performances from Buehrle, who is 8-8 with a 3.56 ERA on the season. In nine starts beginning with that victory over the Twins, he is 6-2 with a stellar 1.76 ERA and pitched at least seven innings on all but one of those occasions.
Buehrle was sharp once again this past Tuesday, when he yielded just one run and six hits over 7 1/3 frames to lead the White Sox to a 10-2 win over Texas.
Minnesota counters with youngster Kevin Slowey, who has struggled in two straight starts since winning four consecutive decisions from June 13-July 5. The 24-year-old took the loss in Tuesday's 8-2 setback to the Yankees, with Slowey surrendering four runs over 5 1/3 innings of work.
Prior to that start, Slowey was rocked for six runs and nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings during a no-decision at Detroit on July 10.
Slowey was also hit hard in a pair of defeats to the White Sox earlier this season, both of which took place in Chicago. In the most recent one, the right-hander gave up eight runs and 10 hits while lasting just three innings back on June 10. He is 1-2 with a 6.62 ERA in four overall appearances (3 starts) against the Sox.
The home team has excelled so far during this year's season series between these clubs. Chicago has won seven of nine matchups with the Twins in the Windy City, but Minnesota swept a two-game set from the Sox at the Metrodome from April 29-30.
