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White Sox-Red Sox Preview

Aug 24, 2009 - 5:35 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Chicago (63-61) at Boston (70-53), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Boston Red Sox may be more focused on winning the AL wild card after this past weekend. The Chicago White Sox are hoping to still be in the playoff hunt after the next two weeks.

The Red Sox look to bounce back after a tough series against their archrival Monday night when they host a White Sox team they've enjoyed success against at Fenway Park the last few years.

Boston (70-53) dropped two of three against New York over the weekend to fall 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East. The Red Sox lost 8-4 on Sunday after Josh Beckett allowed five home runs in eight innings.

While they seem to have played themselves out of the division race, the Red Sox still have a one-game lead over Texas for the wild card. Boston is trying to take advantage of a stretch of playing 15 of its next 22 at home, where it is 39-20.

"There's still time left (to win the division), but if that doesn't happen, I think what goes unnoticed around here is that we're in first place for the other remaining playoff spot," left fielder Jason Bay told the Red Sox's official Web site. "It goes unnoticed sometimes when you're playing New York and people want to make a huge deal out it. We won the wild card last year and made it to Game 7 of the ALCS."

Boston's next opponent will be the White Sox, who have won four times in their last 13 games at Fenway Park. Chicago is 2 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central after failing to take advantage of an easy stretch in its schedule.

The White Sox (63-61) played their last three series against the worst teams in each division of the AL but went 5-4 over that stretch. They dropped two of three against Baltimore over the weekend, losing 5-4 on Sunday.

Chicago, which plays its next 11 on the road, hit .219 over the series.

"We have a month and half to go, maybe less than that, and if our offense continues like that good luck," said manager Ozzie Guillen, whose team also faces the Yankees, Twins and Cubs during this stretch of road games.

"It's going to be hard for us to be there at the end. Last week I said we would be in the pennant race with these bunch of guys, I don't see it today."

Clay Buchholz (2-3, 3.99 ERA) will try to take advantage of Chicago's hitting struggles when he takes the mound for Boston in the opener of this four-game series.

Buchholz is coming off a third consecutive impressive start after he allowed one run in six innings to beat Toronto 6-1 on Wednesday.

It was the right-hander's first victory since his season debut July 17 and came after he lost his previous two starts despite having allowed three earned runs over 13 innings. The Red Sox failed to score while he was on the mound in either outing.

Buchholz lost 6-5 at Chicago last year after allowing five runs and seven hits - three home runs - over three innings.

Chicago will counter with Jose Contreras (5-11, 5.13), who recorded his first win in more than a month after allowing one run and three hits over seven innings in defeating Kansas City 4-2 on Wednesday. The right-hander had gone 0-4 with a 7.62 ERA in his previous six starts, failing to make it out of the fifth four times.

Contreras is 3-5 with an 8.82 ERA against the Red Sox in his career and has a 10.26 ERA in seven appearances at Fenway Park.

These teams play another four-game series Sept. 4-7 in Chicago.