| SEASON | CAREER |
| W16 | 20 |
| L6 | 9 |
| G26 | 105 |
| IP169.0 | 263.0 |
| BB44 | 81 |
| SO168 | 279 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W0 | 5 |
| L1 | 11 |
| G2 | 143 |
| IP8.2 | 145.0 |
| BB8 | 88 |
| SO4 | 124 |
Thursday night's rainout could end up being a positive for the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox.
After another tense matchup with the second-place Detroit Tigers was postponed, the White Sox will open a three-game set against the last-place Minnesota Twins with ace Chris Sale on the mound Friday night at Target Field.
The White Sox's division lead was cut to one game after they dropped two of three during their crucial four-game set with the Tigers - including an 8-6 loss Wednesday - but the series finale was pushed back until Monday due to inclement weather.
Manager Robin Ventura said games for both his club and Detroit are important no matter which team each is playing.
"There's going to be a lot of tough games coming up and we'll face more good pitchers and they'll face our pitchers," Ventura said after the White Sox avoided facing Justin Verlander . "It's fun. For guys that are playing, this is a lot better than what other teams have going on right now."Chicago (76-66) retained sole possession of first place for at least one more night, and rather than facing surging Detroit, it will play a Minnesota team it's beaten 11 times in 15 games in 2012.
Sale (16-6, 2.88 ERA), who was scheduled to start Thursday, gets an extra day of rest after allowing one run in six innings of Saturday's 5-4 win over Kansas City.
"My first few innings were kind of erratic, all over the place and, honestly, just try to go out there and battle it out," Sale said. "It was just something I kind of had to find again and get back to where I was."
The left-hander has gone 1-3 with a 4.81 ERA over his previous four starts, but a fifth day off may do him some good - he's 8-3 with a 3.35 ERA in 12 starts on such occasions. Sale also has won both of his starts against the Twins this season, allowing two hits in seven innings of a 6-0 victory May 23 and giving up two runs in seven innings of a 12-5 win June 27.
The White Sox took two of three at home against the Twins from Sept. 3-5, but they've lost nine of 10 on the road heading to Target Field on Friday.
Minnesota (60-84), which is tied with Cleveland for last in the Central, rallied for a 4-3, 10-inning victory over Kansas City on Thursday. Denard Span drove in Alexi Casilla with the winning run after Trevor Plouffe homered in the ninth to tie it.
"I felt better at the plate," Plouffe said. " I didn't play yesterday so (hitting coach Joe) Vavra and I worked a lot in the cage just figuring some things out so I felt comfortable. It's something I've got to build on."Josh Willingham hit his 34th homer for the Twins, who are 6-13 at home since July 31 - a stretch that began with the White Sox taking the final two of a three-game set.
Minnesota has dropped 10 of the last 13 home meetings with Chicago, and it will send Esmerling Vasquez to the mound. Vasquez (0-1, 9.35) will make his third start after allowing four runs and walking five in three innings of Minnesota's 8-7 loss to Cleveland on Sunday. He's walked eight and struck out only four in 8 2-3 combined innings.
The right-hander made a relief appearance against the White Sox while pitching for Arizona on June 19, 2011, giving up five runs in one-third of an inning.
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AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Alejandro De Aza | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Adam Dunn | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Kosuke Fukudome | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Paul Konerko | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Brent Lillibridge | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Alex Rios | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Alexi Casilla | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Joe Mauer | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .167 | .334 | .167 |
| Trevor Plouffe | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ben Revere | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Denard Span | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Danny Valencia | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Josh Willingham | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .833 | .333 |
 Chicago White Sox |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 07, 2012 | Adam Dunn | Day-to-Day | Strained right oblique |
| August 27, 2012 | Gavin Floyd | 15-Day DL | Right elbow flexor strain |
| August 27, 2012 | Gavin Floyd | 15-Day DL | Right elbow flexor strain |
| August 25, 2012 | Dayan Viciedo | Day-to-Day | Right shoulder soreness |
| August 19, 2012 | Kevin Youkilis | Day-to-Day | Sore right knee |
| August 18, 2012 | Alejandro De Aza | 15-Day DL | Bruised left ribcage |
 Minnesota Twins |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 11, 2012 | Joe Mauer | Day-to-Day | Back spasms |
| September 02, 2012 | Josh Willingham | Day-to-Day | Slightly strained left hamstring |
| August 28, 2012 | Denard Span | 15-Day DL | Strained right sternoclavicular joint |
| August 28, 2012 | Denard Span | 15-Day DL | Strained right sternoclavicular joint |
| August 24, 2012 | Josh Willingham | Day-to-Day | Stiff neck |
| August 12, 2012 | Denard Span | Day-to-Day | Left game - right shoulder injury |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Chris Sale is a big part of the AL Cy Young Award conversation, his reliever-to-starter transition season for Chicago already a rousing success.
There's only one achievement he wants to talk about, though, and that's a spot in the playoffs for the White Sox.
Sale threw six scoreless innings to notch his 17th victory after being rained out the night before, helping the White Sox keep their one-game AL Central lead by beating the Minnesota Twins 6-0 on Friday.
"Any time he pitches you feel confident that you're going to have a chance to win the game. Spirits are high," manager Robin Ventura said.
Sale (17-6) scattered three singles and struck out five without a walk, cruising to his third win in three starts against the Twins this year, surrendering only up two runs in 20 innings. Sale lowered his ERA to 2.78, third in the AL, and he's tied for second in wins. The Cy Young competition this fall is tough, but Sale has earned a spot among the front-runners.
Just don't expect him to acknowledge that.
"When you start thinking about things like that you get a little selfish, and what's really important slips away," the 23-year-old Sale said. "I want to play for this team. I'm not trying to win any awards or anything like that. The only award I want is a big, shiny trophy at the end."
Sale was supposed to pitch on Thursday at home against Detroit, but the last matchup of the season between the two division front-runners was postponed until Monday by the wet weather. The Tigers, who beat Cleveland 4-0, are one game back in the race.
"As long as we win, what they do doesn't really matter," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "We've just got to go out and try to win games, and hopefully we can do that for the next couple of days."
Dayan Viciedo had two RBIs, Kevin Youkilis homered and Alex Rios doubled, scored and drove in a run for the White Sox, who played without injured slugger Adam Dunn for the seventh straight game. Dunn, who has a strained right oblique muscle, could return to the lineup on Saturday.
Twins starter Esmerling Vasquez (0-2) walked three straight batters in the fourth inning after a one-out single, with Viciedo's walk forcing in the second run for Chicago. Then with two outs in the sixth, after a broken-bat single by Pierzynski and a walk to Viciedo, Kyle Waldrop relieved Vasquez. Alexei Ramirez greeted him with a single to make it 3-0.
The White Sox are 12-4 against the Twins this year, but they're just 5-12 against the Tigers with losses in nine of the last 10 meetings. With 19 games remaining, the White Sox play legitimate contenders only eight more times including the pivotal makeup game on Monday. They can't afford to slip up against faded foes like the Twins, who are jostling with the Indians for fourth place.
Sale made sure they didn't, letting only two runners reach second base. Youkilis helped him out at third base with consecutive catches of hard line drives, going down on the ground to his right to snag Jamey Carroll 's and then gloving Josh Willingham 's on the next play.
"It seems like every time we need him to go out and throw a good game he does," Pierzynski said.
The Twins were, again, impressed.
"The ball sometimes disappears," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "That's telling you that the guy has great stuff."
NOTES: LHP Francisco Liriano (5-11, 5.37 ERA) will pitch on Saturday against his former team so the White Sox can give starters Jose Quintana and Gavin Floyd extra rest. Liriano has been bouncing back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. RHP Samuel Deduno (6-3, 3.55 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Twins, coming off a strong start on Monday when he beat the Indians with seven innings, six strikeouts and three hits, two runs and three walks allowed. ... Floyd in 2008 was the last to win 17 games for the White Sox. ... Joe Mauer missed his fourth straight game due to back spasms, but the Twins said he's feeling better. With Ryan Doumit also day to day with a strained rib cage, Chris Herrmann was called up from Double-A New Britain to be the emergency catcher. ... Ventura said when Dunn returns Dewayne Wise will be in the mix with Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza for time in LF and CF.
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Chicago White Sox