Chicago White Sox: Key Division Stretch Starts vs. Cleveland Indians

The Chicago White Sox get the chance to prove their AL Central contenders. After breaking even in April, Chicago hosts Cleveland to start a key stretch of games.

The south-siders are one game behind the Indians for the division lead along with Detroit. Starting Tuesday night, the White Sox play the first of ten games with their two closest division rivals.

Chris Sale hopes to get things off to a winning start as he faces off with Ubaldo Jimenez at U.S. Cellular Field in the opener. Phillip Humber and John Danks will be throwing the remainder of the series on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Both Sale and Danks have wins over Cleveland under their belts this season, though Humber missed the chance to face the Indians lineup due to inclement weather. Chicago has won both meetings against the Tribe in 2012.

That's a good sign because Chicago will be seeing a lot of the Indians in the next ten days.

The White Sox head to Detroit for a weekend series before traveling to Cleveland for a four game set next week, including a rare day-night double-header Monday night. Chicago has had early success against these two teams, going 4-1 in April in games with their fellow division contenders.

Of course, to still be considered division contenders, the White Sox have to continue that trend. It won't be easy.

Paul Konerko is hitting .383 and is tied for the team lead with five homers. On the other hand, the rest of the infield is struggling right now.

Alexei Rameriez is hitting .116 over his last 10 games and currently his average sits at a paltry .207. Brent Morel and Gordon Beckham are faring even worse.

Humber and Danks are coming off of forgettable starts against the Red Sox this past weekend. However, the starting rotation has been strong in the season's first month and the pitching staff's 3.41 team ERA is tied for third in the American League.

Hopefully the White Sox can bounce back from dropping three of four games to Boston and leapfrog the Indians in the standings.