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White Sox-Twins Preview

Aug 19, 2010 - 5:33 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Chicago (65-55) at Minnesota (70-50), 8:10 p.m. EDT

The Minnesota Twins have plenty to do before the AL Central crown is theirs, but they can certainly deal a big blow to the Chicago White Sox's hopes Thursday night.

The Twins look to make it seven straight wins by finishing a sweep of the White Sox, who could find themselves six games out of first place with just three left against their division rivals.

Minnesota (70-50) was tied for second in the Central with Detroit on July 21, 3 1/2 games behind Chicago (65-55).

A lot has changed in a month. As the Tigers have plummeted out of the race, Minnesota is threatening to distance itself from the White Sox. The Twins went a season-high five games up in the Central with a 7-6 win over manager Ozzie Guillen's club Wednesday.

"It's not that we have their number," right fielder Jason Kubel said. "We've just been playing well."

Joe Mauer continued his torrid second half, finally hitting his first Target Field homer and finishing with four hits. He has batted .477 with 24 RBIs in his last 22 games.

The Twins have taken seven of nine from the White Sox since the All-Star break, and Mauer has been the catalyst. The reigning AL MVP is hitting .450 with two homers, six doubles and 10 RBIs in that span.

Mauer hasn't always enjoyed facing Mark Buehrle (11-9, 4.05 ERA), who will try to help Chicago avoid its first road sweep since April 16-18. Minnesota's catcher is hitting .256 (11 for 43) against the left-hander.

Buehrle knows the Twins' lineup as well as anyone. He is 24-17 with a 4.08 ERA against Ron Gardenhire's club, can pass Roger Clemens for the second-most victories versus Minnesota on Thursday.

Hall of Famer Whitey Ford has the most with 29.

While Mauer hasn't had much success against Buehrle, Denard Span (12 for 28, two homers) and Delmon Young (10 for 27, two homers) have.

Buehrle has gone 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA in his last 12 outings. He gave up three runs over 6 1-3 innings of an 8-4 win over Detroit on Friday.

"He was really good," second baseman Gordon Beckham told MLB.com of Buehrle. "He has been that way for what seems like the last two months."

Buehrle threw a complete game in his first start at Target Field on July 17, but was bested by Carl Pavano (15-7, 3.27), who gets the call again for Minnesota.

Pavano's past two months have been even better than Buehrle's. The right-hander, 10-1 with a 2.63 ERA since June 9, held Oakland to two runs over 6 1-3 innings in a 4-3 win Friday.

"He just keeps battling. He just doesn't give in if something doesn't go his way," manager Ron Gardenhire told the Twins' official website.

Pavano has gone 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in his last four starts against the White Sox.

A.J. Pierzynski has had the most success versus Pavano, going 7 for 19 (.368). Andruw Jones, Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin are a combined 4 for 46 against him.

"There are so many games left, and teams go on streaks," Wednesday's losing pitcher Gavin Floyd said. "We all believe that we can still do it. There's no doubt about that. So we need to keep battling."

The teams conclude their season series at Chicago from Sept. 14-16.