The White Sox take a 2 1/2 game AL Central lead to Baltimore's Camden Yards (or is it Oriole Park?) for a big 4-game series with the Wildcard-contending Orioles tonight through Thursday. The O's may not have been relevant since 1997, but Buck Showalter's guys have given the Sox trouble since he took over as manager just over 2 years ago. These are the mound matchups for this important series:

TONIGHT: 6:05P: WCIU 26 The U & 670 The SCORE/White Sox Radio Network
CHW: 58 Francisco Liriano (LHP; 5-10 Overall w/CHW & MIN, 5.12 ERA) vs. BAL: 16 Wei-Yen Chen (LHP; 12-7, 3.87 ERA)

TUESDAY: 6:05P: CSNC & 670 The SCORE/White Sox Radio Network
CHW: 49 Chris Sale (LHP; 15-4, 2.67 ERA) vs. BAL: 30 Chris Tillman (RHP; 6-2, 3.71 ERA)

WEDNESDAY: 6:05P: WGN (CW9/WGN America) & 670 The SCORE/White Sox Radio Network
CHW: 44 Jake Peavy (RHP; 9-9, 3.09 ERA) vs. BAL: 50 Miguel Gonzalez (RHP; 5-3, 3.66 ERA)

THURSDAY: 11:35A, WGN & 670 The SCORE/White Sox Radio Network
CHW: 62 Jose Quintana (LHP; 5-2, 2.86 ERA) vs. BAL: TBA*

*NOTE: TBA could be newly acquired O's lefty Joe Saunders, who Baltimore acquired yesterday in a trade from the Diamondbacks. RHP Matt Lindstrom and cash or a player to be named will go to Arizona.

bigfan is in Baltimore? Jeez, he really is obsessed.

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I don't like this series. Hopefully take 2

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Their best 3 starters go so this had better be at least 2 wins.

Orioles still have time to fall out of the race....and they will

The lineup is in for Game 1 of this White Sox/Orioles' series. Here's how the Sox will deal with lefty Wei-Yin Chen tonight in Baltimore:

28 Dewayne Wise CF (L) .289
20 Kevin Youkilis 3B (R) .245
32 Adam Dunn 1B (L) .204
14 Paul Konerko DH (R) .319
51 Alex Rios RF (R) .303
12 A.J. Pierzynski C (L) .293
24 Dayan Viciedo LF (R) .254
10 Alexei Ramirez SS (R) .264
15 Gordon Beckham 2B (R) .229
Starting Pitcher: 58 Francisco Liriano (LHP; 5-10, 5.12 ERA)

No pics of the Sox wearing their John Daly/casual pimp outfits?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Actually, it was on the late news last night, UMN. White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham actually Tweeted this on the flight:

http://instagram.com/p/O16Rj1Gfz8/

The Orioles' lineup is now in. Here's their starting 9 vs. Liriano:

21 Nick Markakis RF (L)
2 J.J. Hardy SS (R)
10 Adam Jones CF (R)
32 Matt Wieters C (S)
51 Lew Ford DH (R)
12 Mark Reynolds 1B (R)
9 Nate McLouth LF (L)
13 Manny Machado 3B (R)
11 Robert Andino 2B (R)
Starting Pitcher: 16 Wei-Yen Chen (LHP; 12-7, 3.87 ERA

Sox get swept out of 1st place.

Temporarily.

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Bite your tongue, Joe Saunders is on the way.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Youk! Great trade, Kenny.

Liriano definitely hurt his ankle. You could see him reach down and grab it after that last pitch. Hopefully he just landed on it wrong and there is nothing serious.

Now they are saying it may be a cramp in his lower leg. Hydrate young Man. Hydrate.

I'm with Jesse. Why the hell didn't you throw the ball to first, AJ?!? That looked like a taylor made 5-2-3 double play.

It wasn't pretty but that was a hell of a job by Jesse to get 4 outs and only give up 1 run that inning. Now how about scoring a few runs off this bullpen.

Another big hit for DeWayne. He's been playing some great ball. Offensively and defensively. I'm not sure De Aza gets his job back when he comes off the DL.

Damn it.

C'mon. Wise has been great for sure, but DeAza is at the top of the lineup as soon as he is 100%

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they should know not to put in wife beater in baltimore wayyy too close to boston

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Ugly start to the road trip. That was a win that the O's were just dying to give away, and the Sox couldn't take advantage :\

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Yeah, that was too bad. Chris Sale is on the spot tonight as the Southsiders try to bounce back for only their second win in the season series with the O's.

Anyway, A roster move will be made after the game to accommodate the return of Dylan Axelrod tomorrow night. He'll be called up from Triple "A" Charlotte to start the game tomorrow night in Baltimore. Jake Peavy starts the BIG Tigers' weekend series in Detroit Friday night.

Awaiting tonight's lineup, but the Trib's Mark Gonzales has just Tweeted that Gavin Floyd is back on the 15-day DL with a right elbow strain. Dylan Axelrod officially promoted to the big club.

There's your roster move, SHARKY. It's a good thing rosters expand on saturday. They are going to call up plenty of reserve arms along with a few bench players. Josh Phegley and Dan Johnson should be locks. Brent Morel and Connor Jackson will probably get called up too. Jared Mitchell may get the call to provide some speed off the bench.

GM Ken Williams didn't name specific names, but should the White Sox make the MLB Playoffs, they've got some decisions to make for sure. Even though he's now on the DL, Gavin Floyd & backup infielder Ray Olmedo might not make the postseason roster if the Sox make it.

The lineup is in for Game 2 of White Sox/Orioles. Here's how our Sox will deal with the O's Chris Tillman:

28 Dewayne Wise CF (L) .288
20 Kevin Youkilis 3B (R) .248
32 Adam Dunn DH (L) .204
14 Paul Konerko 1B (R) .319
51 Alex Rios RF (R) .303
12 A.J. Pierzynski C (L) .290
24 Dayan Viciedo LF (R) .252
10 Alexei Ramirez SS (R) .264
15 Gordon Beckham 2B (R) .229
Starting Pitcher: 49 Chris Sale (LHP; 15-4, 2.65 ERA)

As for tomorrow, Dylan Axelrod faces newly acquired lefty Joe Saunders, while another lefty in Randy Wolf might start the getaway game in Baltimore Thursday afternoon. Wolf, just released by the Brewers, will reportedly sign today with the O's, according to multiple MLB sources.

It worked so good for Baltimore last night, Buck Showalter is keeping the same lineup tonight vs. the White Sox' Chris Sale. It goes like this:

21 Nick Markakis RF (L) .293
2 J.J. Hardy SS (R) .232
10 Adam Jones CF (R) .288
32 Matt Wieters C (S) .238
51 Lew Ford DH (R) .200
12 Mark Reynolds 1B (S) .222
9 Nate McLouth LF (L) .246
13 Manny Machado 3B (R) .259
11 Robert Andino 2B (R) .216
Starting Pitcher: 30 Chris Tillman (RHP; 6-2, 3.71 ERA

So was Sale just bad tonight or did his dead arm deal return?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

You sure can count on the Sox to wet the bed on the road. First a sweep in KC, and now getting spanked by the O's. I imagine tomorrow night won't get better with the rookie pitching.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

From what I saw, he was just bad. Hung a slider with the bases loaded. He was in the 90's from what I saw.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist