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White Sox-Angels Preview

Sep 12, 2009 - 6:22 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (70-71) at Los Angeles (84-55), 4:10 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Angels continue to play like a team ready for the postseason. The Chicago White Sox, meanwhile, are running out of time as they try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

The first-place Angels look for a fifth straight victory when they continue their weekend set with the visiting White Sox on Saturday.

Vladimir Guerrero and Maicer Izturis each had two RBIs and Joe Saunders threw seven solid innings to lead Los Angeles to a 7-1 win in Friday night's series opener.

Winners in seven of their last eight contests, the Angels (85-55) have a 5 1/2-game lead over Texas in the AL West as try for their fifth division title in six years.

"The Angels are always going to compete. They're always going to be in the pennant race. They're always going to be in the hunt," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "They've got a great organization, so it's no surprise."

Chicago (70-72), meanwhile, has lost three of five after winning four in a row. The White Sox are six games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central, and missed a chance to trim that deficit and move into second place after the Tigers and second-place Minnesota both lost Friday.

"Obviously we want (Detroit) to lose, but we have to worry about us winning games," said Guillen, whose team has six games remaining against the Tigers. "Hopefully when we face them, we're close enough to compete against them and aren't too far behind them. That's the main thing. That's all you can ask."

Though Chicago is 4-3 against Los Angeles this season, the Angels are pitching extremely well of late. Los Angeles' starters have allowed no more than one earned run in 10 of the last 13 games.

Jayson Nix homered for one of Chicago's five hits Friday. Nix's lone hit in two at-bats against Los Angeles' scheduled starter Ervin Santana was a home run.

Los Angeles hopes Santana (7-8, 5.71 ERA) can avoid a third consecutive loss after allowing five runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings of a 6-3 defeat at Kansas City on Monday.

"He's fine," manager Mike Scioscia told the Angels' official Web site of the right-hander, who's 0-2 with a 3.57 ERA in three starts since winning four in a row.

A 16-game winner last year, Santana has been on the disabled twice this season with a sprained elbow ligament and triceps inflammation.

Santana is 3-2 with a 5.62 ERA in seven starts against Chicago. He's 1-1 with a 14.14 ERA after giving up 11 runs and walking six in seven innings versus the White Sox this season.

Guerrero is batting .389 in his last five games and two of his four career hits against Chicago's scheduled starter John Danks are home runs.

Danks (12-9, 3.84) tries a third time to set a career high for victories when he takes the ball for the White Sox. The left-hander allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings and took the loss in a 6-1 defeat to Boston on Sunday.

Danks, who's 3-1 with a 2.66 ERA in his last six starts, is 1-2 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts against the Angels and 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA when facing them this season.