Chicago White Sox: Enjoy Textbook Mark Buehrle While You Can

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle turned in a gem Monday night that brought the team to five games back of the Tigers in the American League Central Division.

Buehrle's night went just like the typical blueprint for an outstanding Buehrle performance. He worked fast, hit his spots, helped himself in the field and overshadowed a strong performance by Twins starter Kevin Slowey as Chicago won, 3-0.

The win puts the White Sox at 67-65. With a win Tuesday, the team will be three games over .500 for just the third time this season. They were last at that lofty height back on April 12.

Buehrle has just been excellent for much of the summer, as he moves to 11-6 on the season. He lowered his ERA to 3.05 with over seven innings of shutout ball.

At this rate, he may post a career-best ERA and may reach 15 wins for the first time since the 2008 season. He may get enough starts to match the 16 wins he collected in the 2005 championship season.

Since May 1st, the White Sox left-hander has gone 10-3 with a 2.47 ERA. Monday's performance was a nice rebound from what was his poorest start of that stretch, a 4-1 loss to Cleveland in which he gave up 12 hits.

Once again, the White Sox looked finished as playoff contenders but have gotten off the deck. Following up on four wins in a row has been difficult for this team to do, but the schedule is set up for them to make things interesting.

Monday was the start of 28 straight games within the Central Division. If ever the White Sox controlled their destiny, it's now. Can Buehrle keep pacing the rotation as they try to keep the run going?

Buehrle looks to get five or six starts the rest of the way, possibly more if Chicago stays in the race. Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd and John Danks turned in solid starts in Seattle. Zach Stewart, who got hammered his last time out, will try to follow Buehrle's cue and rebound tonight.

Since shaking off a 1-3 start, Buehrle has looked every bit the ace of this staff in what could be his last run with the White Sox. He's setting himself up well in a contract year.

Enjoy what hopefully will be continued mastery of the mound by the longtime Chicago favorite. He may be working in a different uniform next season.