Boston has fallen 8 games back in the AL East race and 7 games behind Tampa Bay for the AL Wildcard. If they hope to make the post season they will need to go on a serious run in this last month of September. The Chicago White Sox on the other hand have a much better chance of making the playoffs. Currently they are 4 games back of Minnesota in the AL Central race. The White Sox’s only chance of making the post season is by winning the division, so they will have to play better baseball over the next month. Chicago does have a three game series with Minnesota in Chicago later this month making it that much more important the White Sox keep the Twins within a few games before that series starts, where they can make up more ground.

This weekend’s series appears to be shaping up as a good one based on pitching match ups alone. Each team will send their three best starters to the mound, which should make for some exciting baseball games. Friday will see John Danks vs Clay Buchholz, Saturday will feature Gavin Floyd vs John Lackey, and Sunday will pit Mark Buehrle vs Josh Beckett. With these quality pitchers we should see playoff caliber baseball played this weekend at Fenway Park.

Boston trails Tampa by only 5.5 games in the division and wild card race; however with time running out on the 2010 season the Bo Sox need to make a move in the standings and this weekend’s series offers a great chance to do so. The Red Sox do have two series left against the Rays and Yankees so all hope is not lost on making the postseason this year. Of course a series win against the Rays this weekend will go a long way in helping those chances.

The 3 game weekend set offers a trio of outstanding pitching match ups. Taking the mound Friday night at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay will be Matsuzaka vs Price, Saturday will see Buchholz vs Garza, and Sunday’s match up with showcase Lackey against Shields. Sunday’s game will also be ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game of the week.

However, if both teams would like to make the postseason again like they did last year then the Angels have a lot of work to do. Currently they sit 8 games behind the Texas Rangers in the battle for the AL West division and they also lag in baseball betting odds. While they do still play the Rangers 7 more times this season, if they have any hopes of making the playoffs this year they will have to string some wins together in a hurry.

Minnesota on the other hand is looking increase their lead over the rival Chicago Whitesox. Minnesota holds a 4 game lead in their division and would not like to lose any ground when playing other quality teams such as the Angels.

With the absence of Liriano and Pavano from this weekend’s rotation, the pitching match ups appear to be rather favorable for the Angels. On Friday Haren will take the mound against Duensing, Saturday pits Bell against Slowey, and Sunday will see Weaver versus Baker in a game that will be telecast on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

Pettitte said, “Today was good. I pushed it and now I’m going to continue the process.”

On Monday, Pettitte said he threw warm up pitches and took a five-minute before throwing the simulated inning to mimic game conditions. He said it was nothing out of the ordinary, although he did feel some fatigue from “pushing it”.

After Monday’s session, Pettitte’s only concern was his arm stamina. Before returning to the Bronx, he will need at least one minor-league rehab start.

He added, “I’m not gonna come back here [too quickly] and do something stupid. If I don’t feel comfortable in a rehab start or whatever I’ll take an extra one because I don’t want to aggravate this anymore or hurt this anymore.”

For Pettitte, Right-hander Dustin Moseley has filled in nicely. On Sunday night, to earn the win in the Yankees’ 7-2 victory over Boston, he allowed just two runs in 6 1/3. To see Pettitte back in the rotation, the Yankees will be happy. Of his 16-year career, he is enjoying one of the finest seasons. With a 2.88 ERA, he is 11-2 in 18 starts and he was named to the All-Star team for the third time.

On Nelson Cruz’s two-run homer in the 10th inning, Texas (59-42) won Tuesday’s opener before Oakland (51-49) won Wednesday behind All-Star Trevor Cahill’s eight scoreless innings. Since the All-Star break, these teams have the lowest ERAs, with the Rangers at 2.55 and Oakland at 2.69.

For the first time since June 4, in the AL West, the Athletics have moved into sole possession of second place, 7 1/2 games behind the Rangers. Wilson is second in the AL with a .203 mark has a 9-5, 3.03 ERA. In his last 10 starts, he is 6-2 with a 2.57 ERA. This allowed to earn a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, with four hits in eight innings.

Vin Mazzaro (6-2, 3.45), in his last five starts is 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA. Giving up two runs over six innings in a 10-2 home victory, he beat the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. In his season debut May 4; his lone career starts against Texas. In a 7-6 home victory, he yielded four runs over three-plus innings.

In all of the split eight meetings between Texas and Oakland, Josh Hamilton has hit safely, going 13 for 34 with six RBIs. Against the A’s, second baseman Ian Kinsler is 7 for 29. In his last five games, without an extra-base hit and five strikeouts, Kinsler is 4 for 20.

Manager Ron Washington said, there was not anything that he might have done that made me do it. I just felt like it was time. When I get that feeling, I just go with it.”

During a career-best 16-game hitting streak, Cruz is hitting .403 with three homers and 16 RBIs. On Wednesday for Oakland, Kurt Suzuki homered and drove in two runs. With eight RBIs over his last four games, he is 8 for 16.

The A’s are trying to capture their season-high fifth straight series.

For almost two months, at home, the Chicago White Sox have been nearly invincible. At U.S. Cellular Field, their dominance over the Seattle Mariners extends back much further than that.

The White Sox look to win their 10th straight at home, with red-hot Mark Buehrle on the mound. The White Sox, are a major league-best 31-11 since June and no team has been better the last seven weeks than them. In the AL Central, they have gone from 9 1/2 games out of first place to a one-game lead on Minnesota.

As Chicago has won nine straight and 16 of its last 17 at home, almost all of those 11 losses have come on the road. With a second straight easy win over the Mariners, the White Sox continued their home dominance Tuesday night. In an 11-0 victory, they hit three homers. Alexei Ramirez in his last three games is 8 for 12 with five RBIs after going hitless in his previous 12 at-bats.

Seattle lost third baseman Jose Lopez because of a tight left hamstring in the second inning. On Tuesday, the team played without the center fielder Franklin Gutierrez. Mark Buehrle in his last 31 innings has issued three walks, tossed eight scoreless innings. In eight home starts versus Seattle, he is 6-0 with a 3.34 ERA. Against the White Sox left-hander, Ichiro Suzuki is 18 for 42 (.429). For the Mariners, Jason Vargas (6-5, 2.94) looks to continue his consistent pitching. Against Boston on Friday, Vargas was solid again.

The Padres (58-39) lead the third-place Dodgers (53-46) by six games. On Sunday, defeating New York 1-0, the Dodgers come in on a badly needed hot streak. Chad Billingsley will try to get off to a strong start by continuing his success against the Padres. After Clayton Kershaw scattered seven hits in eight innings Sunday, Billingsley (8-5, 4.22 ERA) will try to turn in another superb effort. Tossing a five-hitter in a 2-0 win over the Giants, Billingsley had his own terrific outing Wednesday. That came after he struggled with a 1/3 record and 5.91 ERA through seven starts.

In the NL, the Padres own the best record and since 1998, they are 19 games above .500 for the first time. Against the Dodgers, Adrian Gonzalez, in his last six home games is 1 for 18 with a solo homer. Defeating Pittsburgh 6-3 on Sunday, San Diego has won eight of 10 to sweep the three-game set as it heads into this key series against a division rival.

Jon Garland (9-6, 3.61), who is 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 home starts, will be given the ball by Bud Black. Yielding four runs in five innings of a 6-4, 12-inning win over Atlanta, and the right-hander was not nearly as sharp on the road Wednesday. This season, in two starts against the Dodgers, he is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA.

Mat Latos injury was as unexpected as his quick success. He was the midst of an outstanding run. Latos (10-4, 2.45 ERA) is responsible to put San Diego (56-39) into first place in the NL West by strong pitching. Last year, Latos had 10 inconsistent starts. He has become one of the majors’ top young pitchers. In 106 2/3 innings, the 22-year-old right-hander has struck out 99. Before a strained left oblique landed him on the 15-day DL, Latos was 5-0 with a 1.12 ERA in six starts.

On Friday night, the Pirates were beaten 5-3 in the opener of this three-game set, San Diego got yet another effective effort from its pitchers. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres first baseman is 1 for 13 over his past four contests. In his last 17 games against Pittsburgh (34-62), he has 19 RBIs. At Pittsburgh, the Padres have won 22 of their last 31 games.

Jeff Karstens (2-5, 4.84) will now get the ball from Pittsburgh. In his past three outings, he is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. This is his first start against the Padres. Surrendering five runs in 2 1/3 innings, he has faced them twice in relief. After scoring five runs over their last two games, the Pirates’ lineup will try to give him some support.

Following a 16-for-27 (.593) stretch, Pittsburgh rookie Neil Walker went 0 for 3. He entered this series batting .400 in 21 home games.

Against the A’s, Mark Buehrle will try to end his struggles and get the first-place. To the three-game set Friday night, Chicago White Sox off to a good start. From 2001-2007, against the A’s, Chicago (52-42) dropped 27 of 33 road games.

Buehrl with a 4.95 ERA in 10 career starts there has gone 0-6. 2-year-old Yankee Stadium and Target Field are the only other AL parks in which Buehrle has failed to win. In 20 overall starts against the A’s, he is 3-12 with a 4.11 ERA.

In the Twins series, Chicago bounced back against Seattle to take two of three and to improve to 3-4 on its trip, although in the series Chicago dropped three of four. On Wednesday, as the White Sox lost 2-1, Bobby Jenks allowed two runs in the 11th inning. In the ninth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Twins on Sunday, he gave up four runs. Jenks could be replaced by Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz and Sergio Santos.

Lately for the A’s, pitching has not been a problem. While winning seven of eight, the team has posted a 2.34 ERA. On Wednesday, Oakland defeated Boston 6-4. From a bruised right hand, Carlos Quentin is expected to return. On the White Sox, the outfielder is second, with 19 homers and 64 RBIs and he has not played since Sunday.

Oakland and Chicago have split their past 18 meetings.

As the teams open a four-game series Thursday night, the Red Sox hope John Lackey can earn his sixth straight road win against the Mariners. In the AL East, Boston (53-42) has fallen seven games behind first-place New York, with 10 losses in its last 14 games and 4 1/2 games back of wild card-leading Tampa Bay. The All-Star struggled in a 6-4 defeat, although the Red Sox activated Clay Buchholz to start Wednesday’s matchup with Oakland.

Lackey (9-5, 4.65 ERA) is having one of the most inconsistent seasons of his career and Boston hopes to get a sharper outing although to winning five straight starts at Seattle, he has posted a 1.78 ERA. In 25 overall outings against the Mariners (37-58), the veteran right-hander is 12-9 with a 3.89 ERA.

Adrian Beltre, veteran third baseman has never faced Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-9, 6.18). For the Mariners, Ryan Rowland-Smith s set to take the mound. In each of the two losses, Rowland-Smith has yielded six runs. In seven relief appearances against the Red Sox, he has a 2.70 ERA but no decisions.

Limiting Chicago to four hits en route to an 11-inning, 2-1 win, Seattle got outstanding pitching Wednesday night. As the Mariners avoided a three-game sweep, Franklin Gutierrez delivered a game-winning two-run single.

Despite that outcome, over the last four games, Seattle has scored only five runs. Going 3 for 23 (.130), even 10-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki has been in a slump over his past six contests. Due to back spasms, the Mariners’ top power threat, Russell Branyan missed two straight games and he could be held out for at least one more. With nine RBIs in last 10 games versus the Red Sox, the veteran is hitting .342. Against Boston last year, Suzuki went 6 for 13 (.462) with two homers in three home games. The Mariners won the season series 4-2.