Red Sox @ White Sox: Battle of the Sox-es!

The Red Sox will get a good look the White Sox his weekend, a team they very well likely could meet in the playoffs.

The Red Sox arrive in Chi-town having won 5 of their last 6 games. The White Sox will play host after taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers.

Jon Lester gets the call tonight against Mark Buehrle. Lester has been brilliant as of late, winning three starts in a row and lasting 6+ innings in 9 of his last 10 outings - something he struggled with earlier this year.

Despite being part of a rotation that included Josh Beckett and Diasuke Matsuzaka, Lester has some people calling him the ace of the Boston staff. He hasn't taken a loss since May 25th, notching 7 wins in 10 starts since that game against the Athletics, and dropping his ERA from 3.55 to 3.14...

Lester has faced the Chi-Sox once before, but it was back in 2006. He held them to 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks through 6 innings and grabbed the win back opn July 7th. That was a while ago, so it's tough to say how he'll faor against these White Sox and their 571 runs (5th in MLB)... but Lester should feel good knowing that the Ozzie Gullien's crew has not faired well against south paws this season - .249 BA (23rd).

The Red Sox will step in against Buehrle, who is probably still trying to forget his last outing - 14 H, 8 R, 2 HR, 4.1 IP vs Royals. Buehrle didn't do much better in the outing before that, allowing 8 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) over 5 innings, in a 7-0 loss to the Twins... so the Sox maybe catching him at the right time. He's a modest 4-4 with a 4.46 ERA against Boston, but he has a 3.15 ERA at home this year.

Yahoo! also reminds us abou the last trip the Red Sox made a trip to US Cellular Field:

The last time the Boston Red Sox visited Chicago, one of the most lopsided series in AL history served as a springboard for the Red Sox en route to last year’s World Series title.

The Red Sox won each game from Aug. 24-26 by at least eight runs, scoring in double digits in all four games—a feat that hadn’t been achieved in the AL in 85 years. The aggregate score in the series was 46-7.

“I never think in my career, ‘Wow, I can’t wait until this game is over,’” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told his team’s official Web site Thursday. “Then, I couldn’t wait until that series was over. I thought about it that weekend. It was pretty awful.”

Who to Watch: Jim Thome is riding a 7-game hitting streak and 2 for 3 off of Lester - despite a .241 career BA vs lefties... 2B Alexei Ramírez has also been hot, posting a .310 BA and .369 BA against lefties in 2008... Jason Varitek should be happy to see Buehrle - he's 9 for 23 (.391) with 2 homers... as should David Ortiz (.372, 2 HR, 7 RBI)... Pedroia will be back in the lineup tonigh, looking to extend his road game hitting streak (26 games) - he's 1-4 off Beuhrle.

Bottom Line: We've been beating up on the A's and Royals... after looking dreaful against the Angels, the Red Sox need to prove they can beat a contending team this weekend.