Red Sox want to take advantage of weak White Sox

Facing a tough task in the American League wildcard race, the Boston Red Sox host the Chicago White Sox on Friday for the first game of a three-game series.

The White Sox (32-109) will actually start the series on a higher note after ending their 12-game losing streak with an 8-1 win in Baltimore on Wednesday. The Red Sox (70-70) watched the New York Mets win 8-3 and have now lost five games in a row.

“It's been tough to get to this point this year, but every win feels good,” said Chicago second baseman Nicky Lopez. “Especially because we support each other so much here – and I feel like a broken record. It's a tight group and we haven't managed to overcome that hurdle yet.”

The White Sox hit three home runs on Wednesday, matching their total in the last 17 games. In a 15-hit attack, Lopez and Dominic Fletcher had their first hits of the season and Andrew Vaughn had his 16th hit, tying for the team lead.

Interim manager Grady Sizemore also made several defensive smashes, including a throw from right field by Fletcher in the second inning that caught Orioles pitcher Cedric Mullins attempting to tag from second base.

Wednesday was a game “where everything came together,” Sizemore said. “It shows the guys how they can get it done and try to replicate that type of effort where we play clean, have good hitting opportunities and do everything we need to do to win.”

Davis Martin (0-3, 3.62 ERA) will try to help Chicago win its second straight game for the first time since a three-game winning streak from June 27-29. The 27-year-old has never played against Boston.

Last Saturday against the Mets, Martin had a season-high six strikeouts in five innings of four runs, but lost 5-3. In his previous four starts and 21 innings, he had allowed just four earned runs.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, are looking to end a losing streak that has left them 5 1/2 games behind the Kansas City Royals — they had lost seven games in a row before Wednesday — and secure the third and final AL wild-card spot. The Minnesota Twins are just a few percentage points ahead of the Royals.

Boston fell to .500 for the first time since June 14. As of Thursday, Detroit and Seattle also had identical records of 70-70 and were battling for the final wild-card spot.

“We're talking about the Royals and the Twins and everybody else. It doesn't matter. We're playing baseball with a .500 record,” Boston manager Alex Cora said.

In the Red Sox's series-deciding loss on Wednesday, starting pitcher Tanner Houck was able to fend off a four-run deficit in the first inning and complete five strong innings, but three walks with the bases loaded in the eighth inning decided the game by a one-run margin.

“It really doesn't matter who we're playing,” said catcher Connor Wong. “We still have to play better. It starts with us.”

Boston's Nick Pivetta (5-10, 4.53) is looking to rebound from an unfortunate loss last Saturday in Detroit, where he had six strikeouts and allowed two runs in the first six innings of a 2-1 game, with the game-winning run coming on a flyball double that bounced off left fielder Rob Refsnyder's glove.

Pivetta has a 1-0 record and a career ERA of 1.72 in eight appearances (five starts) against the White Sox.

Boston enters the series with a home record of seven games under .500 (31-38), while the White Sox have a road record of 14-55.

–Field level media