Wow, that was a mess. The Indians starting pitching staff continues to struggle as the Tribe just lost a three game series to the Kansas City Royals. Now, we at Burning River Baseball aren't like the rest of the media who think that the Royals are terrible just because Mike Moustakas hasn't become a household name yet, but the Indians should still have won the series.

The Indians also found out during the last series that Travis Hafner will be out until mid-July as will Grady Sizemore. Hafner had surgery today (5/31) to repair his right meniscus, while Sizemore has yet to begin what will surely be a lengthy rehab process. The Indians will go ahead with Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Lopez splitting time at third and DH. The Indians should be getting some good news off the DL soon as well as Carlos Santana has been cleared to run and is eligible to come off the DL this weekend. With his return the Indians should be able to either place Lou Marson on the DL for the needlework in his face or send him down to Columbus. Keeping Marson and sending Luke Carlin back to AAA would be a huge mistake.

With the Indians firmly entrenched in second place, 1.5 games behind the White Sox and 4 ahead of the Tigers, I think we all need a little positivity to get us back on track. For that reason the rest of this preview will be written with as much homerism as if I worked for WGN.

June 1st 7:05 PM: Carl Pavano, RHP, 2-4, 5.46 ERA vs Derek Lowe, RHP, 6-3, 3.25 ERA

The Indians scored 4 runs against their old teammate Carl Pavano the last time out. Look for them to double it this time while playing in the friendly confines of Progressive Field. Look for Derek Lowe to get back on track against the second worse offense in the league as he will surely get his 7th win of the season.

June 2nd 7:15 PM: P.J. Walters, RHP, P, 2-1, 2.96 ERA vs Josh Tomlin, RHP, 2-2, 4.99 ERA

The Indians have never faced Walters before and since he is a right handed pitcher, they should have no problem. Carlos Santana will be eligible to come of the disabled list by this game and will probably play and hit about three home runs. Tomlin will be making his second start back from the DL and everyone knows that the second start back is the good one. The Indians should take this game easily.

June 3rd 3:05 PM: Scott Diamond, LHP, 3-1, 2.27 ERA vs Justin Masterson, RHP, 2-4, 5.14 ERA

Scott Diamond is a lefty so the Indians best bet will be to take a lot of pitches and foul off the strikes to get his pitch count to 100 before the 5th. Then they can take apart the Twins bullpen so Justin Masterson can get that third win that he so rightfully deserves.

There you have it. Indians sweep and since the White Sox are going to get swept by the Mariners this weekend as well, the Tribe should be back in first by Monday. This is all incredibly stupid, I don't know how Hawk does it.

The results are in. Here is how your Tribe players fared in the month of May. The order is based on the entire seasons performance while the stats and rating are just based on May. Here are April's rankings to compare (the difference is noted in parenthesis).

 1. Jason Kipnis Above (+2)

5 Home runs: After going homerless in April, Jason Kipnis found his power stroke (and his running shoes) in May. He lead the team for the month in both home runs and steals and is also leading in leadership. This is the new face of the franchise. We are all Kipnisses.

2. Asdrubal Cabrera Above (+6)

14 RBI: With injuries to Hannahan, Santana and Hafner, Cabrera has found himself in a middle of the lineup role that he is taking well too. Cabrera lead the team in slugging for the month of May and was second in walks as well as he shows himself to be a well rounded player.

3. Derek Lowe Even (-1)

8 Walks: Lowe has been extremely frugal in allowing walks, but his 40 hits allowed have kept his WHIP higher than he would like. He saw a little drop back in May from his hot start, but is still performing at a better level than expected.

4. Jeanmar Gomez Even (+1)

3 Losses: It seems unfair that Gomez and Jimenez should have the same amount of losses. He has easily been the second best pitcher on the team to this point in the year although he, like Lowe, has seen a step back since April. He has the opposite problem of Lowe in that he doesn't allow many hits, but walked 15 during May.

5. Michael Brantley Above (+6)

7 Steals: Brantley is tied with Kipnis for most steals on the team. Most impressively, after starting off even in April (2 SB, 2 CS) he has since only been caught 2 more times. I said last month that Brantley was improving at the end of the month and he was, in every facet of his game.

6. Justin Masterson Even (+1)

30 K's: The Indians ace continues to lead the team in strikeouts as he shows at least some spark of improvement. Masterson definitely was better in May than in April, but still has work to do to become the dominant pitcher he was in 2011.

7. Chris Perez Above (+7)

100% Saves Converted: Perez certainly brought the Rage in May as he earned every Indians save but 2 and never blew an opportunity. He currently leads all of baseball in saves and fist pumps. What more could you ask from a closer?

8. Shin-Soo Choo Even (+7)

18 Runs: As Cabrera is learning to be a middle of the lineup hitter, Choo has been learning to lead off and taken very quickly to his new role. He was second on the team in runs for the month and has started stealing bases again (5 SB, 0 CS in May).

9. Vinnie Pestano Above (+1)

8 Holds: Pestano had an ERA of 2.25 and 9 decisions (1 win, 8 holds) in 13 games played in May. Pestano is basically dominating the entire league, just about every other day.

10. Casey Kotchman Even (+10)

6 Doubles: Kothman's rise has more to do with the large list of players no longer on the roster than his own improvements, but he has improved. He has hit this month the way he was expected to before he joined the Tribe. A lot of singles, a few doubles and one or two home runs. If he can play the rest of the season like he has this month, there is going to be a place on the roster for him.

11. Jose Lopez Above (+12)

.410 SLG: Jose Lopez has to have been the biggest surprise on this team. The Indians looked to be in trouble when Hannahan was hurt the same time Chisenhall was on the MiLB DL, but Lopez has filled in admirably. In limited action (17 games) Lopez had 12 RBI and 5 doubles and didn't play too bad defensively either.

12. Nick Hagadone Above (+10)

2.25 ERA: With Rafael Perez being placed on the 60 Day DL Hagadone is here for the long haul and that's not a bad thing. So far this year he has a .077 batting average allowed against lefties. This is one prospect that doesn't need anymore seasoning.

13. Josh Tomlin Even (-4)

3 Home Runs Allowed: Tomlin missed a couple starts this month with wrist problems, but in those he did make he showed the same results as last year. His .206 BAA and 1.09 WHIP show he doesn't give up many hits, but when he does they leave the ballpark. His inflated ERA of 4.42 can attest to that as well.

14. Joe Smith Below (-2)

4 Wins: I'm not sure what happened to Smith this month. He pitched in more games than any other reliever and did pick up 4 wins, but he also allowed 19 total hits and walks in less than 12 innings along with 7 earned runs. 

15. Ubaldo Jimenez Below (-2)

2.00 WHIP: How does a former Cy Young award winner get a WHIP over 2.00? By walking 28 batters in 32 innings. Ubaldo has lost all control over his fastball and has struggled just as badly this month as he did last.

16. Shelley Duncan Below (0)

.214 ISO: Isolated power is the difference between slugging percent and batting average. This year, that ISO puts Duncan among players like Mark Teixeira, Luke Scott and Mike Moustakas. The difference between Duncan and a possibly All-Star bid? None of those other hitters are batting .167.

17. Johnny Damon Below (New)

.261 OBP: An on base percent of .261 is really impressive when you're batting just .171. If you didn't think someone could be worse both offensively and defensively, then meet his replacement.

18. Jeremy Accardo Above (New)

9.72 K/9: Accardo has been nothing but great since joining the Tribe in the position he should have held all year. It is such a waste that the Indians allow contract situations to dictate how they make their team. 

19. Aaron Cunningham Below (-1)

.150 AVG: The lowest batting average (of players with more than 11 at bats) on a team full of low batting averages belongs to Cunningham. I know he doesn't play every day, but neither did Mario Mendoza and he still managed a career average of .215.

20. Tony Sipp Below (-1)

.267 BAA: Sipp has vastly improved over April's debacle and his batting average against is the best stat to show it. Although he still allowed more than 5 runs per 9 innings he is starting to get things under control.

21. Lonnie Chisenhall Even (New)

3 Games Played: The rash of injuries has forced the Indians the Indians to bring up a few young players, but Chisenhall is one they should have brought up anyway. He hit a home run in his first at bat and will look to increase his level of play in the coming months to earn a permanent job as the Indians starting third baseman.

22. Juan Diaz Even (New)

4 Hits: Diaz has been extremely impressive as a call up straight from AA. He was the only option at shortstop while Asdrubal Cabrera was injured and hasn't looked like he is playing out of his level at all.

23. Luke Carlin Even (New)

100% SB%: Carlin stole a base during the last game of the month to give him a perfect stolen base percent. He also has a fantastic mohawk that helps protect him from getting a concussion when hit with a foul ball.

24. Scott Barnes Even (New)

1 IP: Scott has pitched an inning. It was a good inning. He walked two batters and struck out another, but didn't allow any runs.

25. Lou Marson Below (-1)

4 Hits: Marson has the same amount of hits as Juan Diaz even though he has 10 more at bats. Juan Diaz was in AA two weeks ago. Marson should be in AA now. He does, however, currently lead the team with facial stitches with 3.

No longer with us (in no particular order):

Demoted or Released (April ranking in parenthesis):

Jason Donald Below (17)

Zach McAllister Even (DNP)

Jairo Asencio Above (25)

Dan Wheeler Below (21)

Disabled:

Carlos Santana Below (6)

Travis Hafner Below (1)

Jack Hannahan Below (4)

Those are my rankings and assessments. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong. @BRBBlog on Twitter.

Roster Updates: Travis Hafner was finally placed on the 15 Day disabled list for his meniscus issues after hitting himself with a foul ball. His DL stint is retroactive to May 24th, but he may stay on until at least June 16 as the Indians will be on the road against National League teams until then. As long as Carlos Santana is back and Lonnie Chisenhall stays on the roster, the Indians will probably be better off without Hafner. Scott Barnes was brought up from AAA to replace Pronk. Barnes will be placed in the bullpen in long relief. He was starting at the beginning of this season, but after some struggling was placed into the bullpen in Columbus where he was dominant. He is technically taking Jairo Asencio's place in the pen. This move puts the Indians' roster back into full strength.

Player of the Game

Without even getting a hit, Like Carlin wins today's Player of the Game. Carlin reached on a fielder's choice in the 2nd inning, which drove in a run. He stole 2nd base and ended up scoring. With a run, an RBI, and a stolen base, Carlin scored 1.90 points, giving him his first Player of the Game of the season.

Feathers Up

The Indians came out swinging early today. In the first 3 innings of play, everyone in the line up reach base, via hit, walk, or fielder's choice. Unfortunately, only 3 of those runners scored, but it is nice to see the whole line up contributing.

The Indians continue to be aggressive on the base paths. They added 3 more stolen bases to their season total today, 2 by Jason Kipnis in the 1st inning, and one by Luke Carlin in the 2nd.

Indians pitchers picked off 2 Kansas City runners. Jeanmar Gomez picked off Johnny Giavotella in the 4th inning, and Tony Sipp picked off catcher Bryan Pena in the 7th.

 Feathers Down

Jeanmar Gomez pitched his 2nd bad outing in a row. He pitched just 5 innings today and gave up 5 runs and 10 hits. His loss today gave him his 4th loss of the season.

The Indians lost 2 of 3 against the Royals. They have now dropped to second place in the AL Central.

Play of the Game

Jose Lopez keeps Jeff Francoeur from scoring. 

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Kansas City Royals 6

Player of the Game

With two scoreless innings in relief Jeremy Accardo wins tonight's Player of the Game. He and Nick Hagadone celebrated their Independence Day from Jairo Asencio as they proved that the Indians bullpen can still pitch well, even when the team is losing. Accardo ended the game with a score of 2.50 for his first award of the season.

Feathers Up

This recap will have no less than three Will Smith references. The game was terrible, let's just get that out of the way and try to keep it light.

Jose Lopez continues to Get Jiggy Wit It as he knocked in his 15th run of the season in just 21 games played. Lopez put the Tribe on the board in the first with a single to left field.

Switch hitter Asdrubal Cabrera returned to the lineup tonight and hit a single in his first at bat.

DJ Jazzy Jeff Francoeur was held hitless even though almost every other Royal had a hit on the night. Mike Moustakas on the other hand declared, "I Am Legend" as he knocked in four with two hits.

Feathers Down

Justin Masterson was a Bad Boy tonight as he allowed 7 earned runs in just 6 innings against the hapless Royals. With the Indians lineup as depleted as it is it was extremely important for Masterson to be dominant and he simply wasn't.

Juan Diaz grounded into two double plays after Luke Carlin was safe on two separate errors against Royal's lefty Will Smith. If you want to see Smith beat up some more aliens make sure to head down to your local movie theatre to check out Men In Black 3. I'm sure it's a fantastic movie. I think if you bring your ticket stub to the Tower City theatre you can get a free popcorn even.

When Ned Yost came out to disagree with Dan Bellino in the first inning he should have saved his breath. Even tonight's starting pitcher could have told him, There's No Need To Argue, First Base Umps Just Don't Understand.

Play of the Game

The Indians got a couple walks off Will Smith to start the bottom of the first and a couple of hits to tie the game, but then this happened:

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 2 - Kansas City Royals 8

Player of the Game

Jason Kipnis won today's Player of the Game with three singles, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI and a steal.  His score of 5.11 earned him his team leading 5th award of the season.

Feathers Up

The new arrivals produced well today. Lonnie Chisenhall hit a solo home run in his first bat of 2012 and later singled while Josh Tomlin earned a win in his return to the starting rotation. Tomlin did allow 2 home runs and 4 total runs in just 5 innings, but it was good enough to keep the Tribe in the game.

The Indians makeshift lineup has had no problems producing runs even with the absence of Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis Hafner. They have averaged 5.75 runs per game since the departure of the three major players. Luke Carlin (2 singles with 1 run), Jose Lopez (2 singles with 3 RBI) and Juan Diaz (single and a run) all stepped up their game today especially as they were needed.

Feathers Down

Walks hurt the Tribe today as the Royals scored their first and last runs of the game off of walks. To start Josh Tomlin walked Jeff Francoeur and Eric Hosmer immediately followed with a home run. Later, Nick Hagadone walked Jarrod Dyson who then stole second base easily. He scored on a Alcides Escobar single.

Let no one say that I only point out when the umpires get calls wrong against the Indians. Today, Jason Kipnis was tagged out going to third in the Indians 5 run 3rd. However, the umpire called him safe and he scored on the next hit. Even if he actually wasn't touched (he was) he should have been called out for leaving the base line. Let's play fair people.

With the injury to Lou Marson yesterday the Indians only had two players on their bench today, both of whom were outfielders. Aaron Cunningham came in early as a defensive replacement for Johnny Damon leaving only Shelley Duncan on the bench. It's a good thing the Royals weren't out for blood today as there were no infielders or catchers available defensively.

Play of the Game

Lonnie Chisenhall put the Indians on the board with a solo home run.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 8 - Kansas City Royals 5

There's no place like home for the holiday. After getting pounded on the road for three in Chicago, the Indians will return home to face the dilapidated Royals on Memorial Day. The Indians have won four of six against Kansas City so far this year and will look to continue on at that pace. With the sweep by the White Sox the Tribe have fallen to a half game lead over those same Sox. Chicago will be playing against the second best team in the American League (Tampa Bay) so the Indians have a good chance to make up at least a game during this series.

After going through the first month and a half with only minor injuries (Grady Sizemore, Jack Hannahan, Josh Tomlin), the final game against Detroit was a disaster. Travis Hafner is still day-to-day after missing the entire series in Chicago as is Asdrubal Cabrera. If that's not bad enough, Carlos Santana remains on the disabled list and his replacement, Lou Marson, was hit in the face with a baseball yesterday. Luckily, Lou Marson's face is made of concrete so he shouldn't miss any more time. In all the moves to create depth after the injuries, Rafael Perez was placed on the 60 day DL, keeping him out until the middle of June.

*Roster Update: Jack Hannahan has been placed on the 15 day DL with a strained hamstring and Lonnie Chisenhall has been brought up in his place (best injury call up ever). To make room for Josh Tomlin on the roster, Jairo Asencio has been designated for assignment. He is out of options and will be exposed to waivers. If he clears waivers he can be sent to Columbus. If he doesn't the Indians have 10 days to trade or release him or to bring him back to the MLB team.

May 28th, 4:05 EST: Nathan Adcock, RHP, 0-2, 2.33 ERA vs Josh Tomlin, RHP, 1-2, 4.67 ERA

One player is returning from injury after all the pain that happened in Chicago. Josh Tomlin will be coming off the 15 day DL to take the place of Zach McAllister in the rotation. McAllister pitched well with the team during this time around, but he doesn't have the consistency or the ability to completely dominate that Josh Tomlin brings to every game yet. He will certainly play a part in the future of this team, probably again later this season when Derek Lowe's arm falls off or when some other less likely injury scenario occurs.

The Indians haven't faced Adcock this season as he will be making his second start of the year. They did face him last season, twice in relief as he came in for long relief in two Indians routs. He pitched well in both games, especially considering the Indians won the two games with a combined score of 26-3. Adcock only gave up a single earned run in 4.2 innings pitched over the two games.

May 29th, 7:05 EST: Will Smith, LHP, 0-1, 13.50 ERA vs Justin Masterson, RHP, 2-3, 4.62 ERA

The Indians will face the rapper turned actor turned white left handed pitcher and look to turn around their recent failures against lefties making their debut against the team. If only they had Carlos Santana available, the Tribe Called Tribe would certainly be able to win this battle of the bands.

Justin Masterson just pitched his best game of the season for his second win o the year and Travis Hafner and Asdrubal Cabrera are scheduled to return during this game against a young pitcher with an ERA over 10.00. This game should be a laugher for the Tribe, but you never know. Be prepared for another low scoring game as the Indians hitters attempt to make Will Smith look like Justin Verlander.

May 30th, 12:05 PM: Bruce Chen, RHP, 3-5, 4.81 ERA vs Jeanmar Gomez, RHP, 3-3, 3.94 ERA

Bruce Chen certainly has a history against the Indians as he has played with Kansas City since 2009. The lefty made his Major League debut in 1998, puting him about 10 years behind Jamie Moyer and yet still one of the longest tenured players in the Major Leagues. He is yet to play against the Indians this season.

Ever since his suspension, Jeanmar has thrown into the 6th inning in every single start. He was pitching very well, in fact, until the last game against the White Sox pushed his ERA from 3.19 to 4.94. Before that he had two consecutive games with no earned runs allowed. The only two games this season that Gomez has allowed more than 3 runs in a single game have both came against the White Sox, so hopefully that is all behind him now and the Indians can work their rotation to keep him out of any more games on the South Side.

Player of the Game

Johnny Damon finally hit his first home run as an Indian, giving him enough points to be today's Player of the Game. Damon went 1-4 today. Most of his points came from his 3-run home run in the 2nd inning. His score of 5.45 gave him his first Player of the Game of the season.

Feathers Up

In his 3rd Major League game, Juan Diaz got his first (and second) big league hit. Both hits were singles against Gavin Floyd, one in the 4th inning, the other in the 6th.

The Indians offense once again provided some run support. They are hitting the ball well and scoring runs, just not quite enough to win ball games.

Milestone Alert: With Johnny Damon's run scored today, he is now tied with Joe Morgan for 33rd all time in runs scored.

Feathers Down

Pitching failed once again. Starter, Ubaldo Jimenez, gave up 7 runs in 4+ innings pitched. The White Sox had 7 hits off of him, 6 singles and a home run. He also walked 3 and hit a batter. His relief, Jairo Asencio, pitched 2 innings today, giving up 3 runs. Asencio gave up 5 hits: a single, a double, 2 triples, and a home run. The White Sox scored 2 more runs in the 8th inning when Joe Smith allowed 2 of Tony Sipp's runners to score. It is hard to win games when pitchers give up 12 runs.

As if the Indians weren't injured enough, four Indians batters were hit by pitches today. Casey Kotchman (2), Juan Diaz, and Lou Marson were hit, and Marson was removed from the game after being hit in the mouth by Gavin Floyd. There were a total of 6 hit batters in today's game. Ubaldo Jimenez and Jairo Asencio each hit a White Sox batter.

The Indians lost all three games against Chicago. Only 1/2 game separates Cleveland and Chicago in the standings. If the Indians want to stay in first place, they need to turn things around and start winning games.

Play of the Game

Johnny Damon hit his first home run as an Indian.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 6 - Chicago White Sox 12

Roster Moves: Carlos Santana has been placed on the 7-day disabled list after suffering a mild concussion caused by a foul ball taken to the mask. Catcher Luke Carlin has been called up as his replacement. To make room for Carlin on the 40-man roster, the Indians transferred reliever Rafael Perez to the 60-day DL, able to be activated as early as June 25th.

Other recent injuries include Travis Hafner, who is listed as day-to-day with a sore knee, and Asdrubal Cabrera, who is also day-to-day with a sore hamstring. Jack Hannahan returned to the line up today after missing 11 games with a sore back.

Player of the Game

Jason Kipnis ran away with today's Player of the Game. Kipnis went 2-4 today, with 2 home runs, giving him 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Kipnis was the main reason the Indians remained competitive in the game, keeping the score much closer than it could have been. His score of 8.78 gives him his 4th Player of the Game this season.

Feathers Up

Tribe batters rallied in the top of the 3rd inning when Michael Brantley hit a bases-loaded double scoring Juan Diaz (walk), Lou Marson (single), and Shin-Soo Choo (hit by pitch). Jason Kipnis continued the rally when he hit a 2-run homer, scoring Brantley. The Indians scored 5 runs in the inning, at that time giving them a 5-4 lead.

The Indians offense scored 7 runs today, which is usually more than enough to win a ballgame.

Feathers Down

Derek Lowe gave up a lot of hits early, allowing Chicago to take an early 4-0 advantage. After the Indians came back to take the lead in the top of the 3rd, Lowe was quick to give it away in the bottom of the 3rd. After just 2.1 innings pitched, Lowe gave up 8 runs on 10 hits.

The Indians kept fighting back and remained within a run until the bottom of the 7th inning when Joe Smith came on in relief. Smith had problems getting batters out, giving up 4 more runs (3 were earned) and giving the White Sox a 12-7 lead.

After Joe Smith fell apart in the 7th inning, Tony Sipp allowed 2 more White Sox runs in the 8th, giving up a double to Paul Konerko and a home run to Alex Rios.

The injury bug hit the Indians hard, removing the 3-4-5 hitters from the line up. The Indians will play short-handed again tomorrow as they avoid the sweep.

Play of the Game

Michael Brantley steals a home run from Alex Rios in the 1st inning. 

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7 - Chicago White Sox 14

Roster Moves: The Indians have sent starting pitcher Zach McAllister to AAA Columbus and called up infielder Juan Diaz from AA Akron. Juan Diaz will serve as an extra infielder for a few games as Jack Hannahan is still nursing a sore back. Juan Diaz will remain on the team for the White Sox series, but will probably be sent back down at the start of the Kansas City Royals series on Monday, when Josh Tomlin is ready to return from his injury.

Travis Hafner is day-to-day and is likely to miss the weekend series after getting hit by a pitch yesterday. Jack Hannahan is still day-to-day, but can possibly return to the line up tomorrow.

Player of the Game

 With a 9th inning home run, Shelley Duncan won tonight's Player of the Game. He went 1-3 tonight with a walk and a home run. His 3.46 points won him his 3rd Player of the Game of the season.

Feathers Up

Shin-Soo Choo continues his productivity as the Tribe's lead off hitter. He provided most of the Indians offense today with 2 doubles, a walk, and 2 of the Indians runs scored.

The Indians continue to be aggressive on the base paths. They added 3 more stolen bases tonight, 2 by Jason Kipnis and 1 by Shelley Duncan.

Juan Diaz made his Major League debut tonight, pinch hitting for Asdrubal Cabrera in the 8th inning.

Feathers Down

Jeanmar Gomez was not as dominating as he had been in his last 2 starts. He was responsible for giving up 6 Whote Sox runs. He gave up 2 home runs early in the game and fell apart as the game went on.

An error by Jose Lopez in the 7th inning led to 3 unearned runs, allowing the White Sox to run away with the game.

Play of the Game

Shelley Duncan steals his first base since 2010.

Final Score: Cleveland Indians 3 - Chicago White Sox 9

The Tribe swept away Detroit placing them in first place for the near future. If the Indians can continue to win series, especially in the Central Division, they will have no problem keeping their position for the rest of the season. With the sweep the Tigers are now firmly in third and the new second place team is the Chicago White Sox, who the Indians will play in Chicago next.

This will be the 4th series between these two teams already this season the most the Indians have faced any team thus far (they have played Seattle twice and will play the Royals for the third time next series). This time around the pitching will match-up a little different than the last few times as John Danks, who has pitched against Justin Masterson in each series so far, has been recently placed on the disabled list. In his place will be Jose Quintana, a call up from AAA Charlotte.

Indian killers Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski are coming into this series super hot as they each have hit multiple home runs in the last week and Konerko is batting .615 over his last 4 games (over his last 25 games he is hitting a paltry .419).

May 25th, 8:10 PM EST, Jeanmar Gomez, RHP, 3-2, 3.19 ERA vs Jose Quintana, RHP, 1-3, 2.77 ERA (AAA)

Jose Quintana will be making his first Major League start and his second appearance in this series opener against Jeanmar Gomez. Quintana's only MLB experience to this point came in a single game in the May 7th game against the Indians when he pitched 5.2 innings in relief and didn't allow a single run. Gomez was destroyed later in that same series by the White Sox to the tune of 8 earned runs. 

May 26th, 4:10 PM EST, Derek Lowe, RHP, 6-2, 2.15 ERA vs Jake Peavy, RHP, 5-1, 2.39 ERA

A blast from the past, this pitching match-up could belong in the NL West in 2008. Back then Lowe was pitching well for the Dodgers and Peavy was unhittable for the Padres. Since then they both have gone through their rough patches, but have seen a resurgence in 2012. The last time out Jake Peavy only allowed a single run against Cleveland as the White Sox earned a split of the 4 game series. In Lowe's last three starts he is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.71. This looks to be a pitching match-up of epic proportions that will make the game between Justin Verlander and Justin Masterson look like a barn burner.

May 27th, 2:10 PM EST, Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, 5-3, 5.02 ERA vs Gavin Floyd, RHP, 3-5, 4.66 ERA

Jimenez has had two decent starts in a row giving him 3 quality starts in his last two games. This looks like some progress and is enough to place him firmly as the sixth best starting pitcher in the Indians rotation. He has only faced the Sox once this season and did not fair very well. He will look to turn things around in this key AL Central game.

Gavin Floyd has been on the White Sox roster all season and is yet to pitch against the Cleveland Indians. This madness needs to end now and it will as Floyd will start the final game of this three game series. While he has been strong all season, going into the 6th in every game this year, he just had his worst game of the season against the cellar dwelling Minnesota Twins. Floyd was unable to get out of the 4th as he allowed a season high 9 earned runs.

With the way the White Sox go back and forth on everything and their tendency to give up at the first sign of difficulty, an Indians sweep could lead to Chicago trading their entire roster away. The Indians need to try to sweep as it is the best way to never see Paul Konerko again. In related news, Chris Sale is currently a starter again.