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Angels, White Sox still fighting for playoff positioning

Sep 6, 2008 - 10:24 AM LA Angels (85-55) at Chi White Sox (79-61) 7:05 p.m. EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim essentially know they will be playing in October. Their closest competition is 17 games behind and their magic number to clinch the American League West is five.

The Chicago White Sox don't have the same luxury. They're in a dogfight with the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, which will likely be the only way they can qualify for the postseason with the Boston Red Sox holding a sizable lead in the wild-card race. The Angels and White Sox will face off on Saturday.

The White Sox took care of business on Friday, jumping in front of the Angels early en route to a 9-2 triumph. They hold a 1 1/2-game lead over the Twins, and will have their best pitcher on the mound in the second game of the series. Righthander Gavin Floyd (15-6, 3.61 ERA) has won five straight decisions and hasn't suffered a loss since July 19.

In his last outing, he shut down the potent Boston Red Sox offense for 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run and seven hits while striking out five in a 4-2 triumph.

The Angels will counter with John Lackey (11-3, 3.10), who had his ups and downs in July and August but managed to lose only twice during that stretch. On August 26, he threw a complete game against the Oakland Athletics, yielding one run while striking out five in a 5-1 win. In his last outing against the Texas Rangers, he lasted five innings, giving up four runs to take the 4-3 loss.

The Angels are still fighting for home-field advantage in the playoffs, but after back-to-back series with the White Sox and New York Yankees (75-66), they will not face a team with a winning record. Chicago, on the other hand, still has series remaining against the Toronto Blue Jays (74-66), Yankees and Twins.