(Best E Casino) - The Chicago White Sox have had a stronghold on first place in the American League Central since May 17. But thanks to their recent struggles, particularly within their own division, they now share that lead with the Minnesota Twins.

Chicago lost three out of four last week to the Twins, who just received a shot in the arm with the return of Francisco Liriano. The White Sox followed that up by dropping two of three to the Kansas City Royals over the weekend, and in ugly fashion. Not only did the Sox surrender 38 hits in those latest two losses, they also appeared to suffer the worst of a bench-clearing brawl.

In the fifth inning of Sunday's eventual 14-3 loss to Kansas City, White Sox starter D.J. Carrasco threw up and in two straight times to Miguel Olivo, with the second pitch prompting Olivo to charge the mound. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski tried to subdue Olivo, but wound up getting clocked in the head. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected, along with Carrasco. Two innings later, Royals starter Zack Greinke got ejected for an apparent retaliation, when he beaned Nick Swisher.

A clearly perturbed Guillen, as to be expected these days, didn't mince words when asked how he felt about Carrasco being tossed without a warning.

"I wonder why (the umpire) thought we're going to hit the guy with the bases loaded, with a pitch in on the hands," he said. "I'm not going to bring in a guy who throws 85 mph to hit somebody. I will bring (Octavio) Dotel, I'll bring (Matt) Thornton. Then I will tell them to hit 'em. That's the way I do business. You have to have a little bit of common sense."

The Royals and White Sox have six more meetings this season. It will be interesting to see which is more important to Guillen and his players: revenge, or a pennant race.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM JUNIOR

Now that Ken Griffey Jr. is on board, what exactly is Chicago getting other than 600-plus career home runs? For one, the opportunity to join a team with a shot at the World Series was particularly appealing to the sure-fire Hall of Famer, who waived his no-trade clause. That, and a return to center field have enticed the sweet-swinging lefty.

"We believe we're definitely going to have to hit more in the second half than we hit in the first half," general manager Ken Williams said. "(Instinctively), we feel he's going to give us at least what we were getting (in center field). Remember, we didn't have the prototypical guy out there in the first place. (Nick Swisher) did a heck of a job, and he'll continue to get some time out there. But he isn't the most prototypical guy that you can put out there, and you don't have to be if you have good baseball instincts."

Essentially, Griffey will replace Paul Konerko's lack of production in the lineup, while Swisher moves to first base. In his White Sox debut against the Royals on Friday, Griffey supplied immediate dividends with two hits, two RBI and a run scored, leading his new team to a 4-2 victory. He also made a nice diving catch in center field.

But on Sunday, with the heat index at 113 degrees, Griffey was pulled in the sixth inning as he was experiencing cramping in his right leg. Griffey, who turns 39 in November, is in the final year of his nine-year, $116 million contract with Cincinnati, with a $16.5 million club option for next year. He is hitting .245 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI.

WHO'S HOT

Jim Thome (hitting .355 in 22 games) and Alexei Ramirez (batting .330 in 23 games) have carried the offense over the past month.

WHO'S NOT

All of a sudden the starting rotation has gone from team strength to weak link. Javier Vazquez was solid in Friday's win, but before that he hadn't given up fewer than three runs in a start since May 31.

Staff ace Mark Buehrle got tagged for 14 hits on Saturday and lasted just 4 1/3 innings. Clayton Richard has given up 14 runs in his last two starts.

"If we're not pitching, I don't care how many Juniors we bring here. We have to pitch better," Guillen said.

A LOOK AHEAD

The White Sox are home for the first time since July 23 for a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers, with rock-solid Gavin Floyd (11-6, 3.43) hoping to anchor Chicago's starting rotation tonight against Nate Robertson (6-8, 6.06).

John Danks (8-4, 3.31) will toe the rubber against Justin Verlander (8-11, 4.49) on Wednesday, while Vazquez (8-9, 4.66) and Zach Miner (5-4, 3.77) will square off on Thursday.

The White Sox then host the Boston Red Sox for a weekend series.