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White Sox eye ninth straight victory

May 23, 2008 - 1:33 PM LA Angels (28-21) at Chi White Sox (26-20) 8:11 pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) - When the Chicago White Sox last saw the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they took the final two games of a four-game set. They haven't lost since.

The White Sox attempt to match their longest winning streak in nearly two years when they start a three-game set with the Angels on Friday.

Chicago took the final two games of its series with Anaheim from May 12-15 and used that momentum to power it through three-game sweeps of San Francisco and Cleveland. With their eight-game winning streak, the White Sox are in the midst of their longest run since winning nine in a row from June 15-24, 2006.

Carlos Quentin, who hit his first career grand slam in his team's first win of the Angels' series, has taken quite nicely to the No. 3 spot in the batting order that began on that day.

During the streak, Quentin is hitting .357 (10-for-28) with 11 RBI in his last eight games since moving up from the seventh spot in the lineup, including Thursday's 2-for-4 performance in which he delivered the tie-breaking single in the eighth inning of a 3-1 win over the Indians.

Hoping to benefit from another solid game from Quentin will be Gavin Floyd (4-2, 2.92 ERA), who will seek a repeat of his last start. The righthander tossed six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in last Friday's 2-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

He will be opposed by Joe Saunders (7-1, 2.48), who posted his sixth win in his last seven starts in last Friday's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The lefthander allowed two runs and five hits over 7 1/3 innings, yielding three runs or fewer for the seventh time in nine starts.