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Twins-White Sox Preview

May 21, 2009 - 6:13 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Minnesota (18-22) at Chicago (16-22), 2:05 p.m. EDT

Warm weather appears to be helping the Chicago White Sox find their groove at the plate. A home series against the struggling Minnesota Twins might be a better explanation for the sudden production.

The White Sox look to continue their home dominance of the Twins and match their season-high winning streak by completing a sweep of this three-game series on Thursday.

Chicago (17-22) entered this series ranking at the bottom of the league in runs per game (3.9), and its .246 batting average was only better than Oakland's AL-low .239. Those offensive struggles were evident when the White Sox hit .208 in losing seven of eight games prior to beating Minnesota 6-2 on Tuesday to start a six-game homestand, which has been featuring warm weather.

The Sox built on that victory by winning 7-4 on Wednesday, scoring all of their runs in the fourth inning.

"When it gets warm here, this ballpark turns into a smaller park than it is," White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye said. "It lets you go up there and feel comfortable, and guys are starting to get in the swing of things.

"So far, so good. We knew this was a big homestand for us."

Chicago has won 10 of the last 11 meetings at U.S. Cellular Field with Minnesota (18-23), and in position to sweep its AL Central rival for the first time since a four-game set there last June 6-9.

The White Sox also can match their season-high three-game winning streak from April 11-13.

If they're going to accomplish that, Dye could play a key role.

The slugger is hitting .358 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs in his last 33 home games against Minnesota. He's connected on homers for each of his last two hits over the past two days, including his eighth career grand slam on Wednesday.

Bartolo Colon (2-3, 4.21) hopes to benefit from Chicago's sudden offensive surge after going 0-2 with a 4.30 ERA in his last three starts while getting two total runs of support.

The 35-year-old right-hander scattered five hits in five scoreless innings Saturday, only to have an upset stomach force him to exit Chicago's 2-1 loss at Toronto.

Colon looks to improve on that outing by beating the Twins for a second consecutive time. He yielded three hits in six innings of an 8-0 win at U.S. Cellular on April 11.

The Twins are looking to avoid their first seven-game losing streak since dropping eight in a row from July 5-13, 2003.

They'll turn to Nick Blackburn (2-2, 4.38), who is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA in his last three starts, and the Twins have lost all of them.

The right-hander was solid through seven innings on Saturday, allowing two runs and four hits before being reached for two runs and two hits and exiting with two outs in the eighth of a 6-4, 11-inning loss at New York.

Blackburn, who owns the lowest ERA of any member of the Twins' rotation, hasn't fared well on the road against the White Sox, going 0-4 with a 5.27 ERA in five career starts. That included a loss at Chicago on April 12, when he allowed four runs and six hits in six innings of a 6-1 defeat.

Overall, Blackburn is 2-4 with a 4.57 ERA in eight games - seven starts - against the White Sox.