(Sports Network) - The playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox may get an added boost to their 10-game road trip, which begins tonight with the first of three straight matchups against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
The White Sox have acquired slugger Manny Ramirez from the Los Angeles Dodgers after Chicago was awarded the All-Star in a waiver claim on Friday. Ramirez was enroute to Cleveland to join the White Sox, but was not expected to play until tomorrow.
The White Sox could use another right-handed bat in the lineup and lost the last two portions of a three-game home series versus the New York Yankees over the weekend. Gavin Floyd suffered the tough-luck loss for allowing only two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, while Juan Pierre drove in the lone run and both Gordon Beckham and A.J. Pierzynski provided two hits in defeat.
"We pitched very well. Today, we just couldn't get a big hit," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Guillen hopes to get some quality innings out of left-handed ace Mark Buehrle when he takes the mound in tonight's series opener. Buehrle had won two straight starts and four of five decisions before losing to Baltimore last Wednesday, when he was touched for four runs and six hits in seven innings.
Buehrle, who dropped to 12-10 in 26 starts this season, is 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA in four starts versus the Indians this season. He is 12-15 with a 4.68 ERA in 41 career games, 40 of which have been starts, against Cleveland.
Chicago will also visit Boston and Detroit on the road trip, and is 4 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the AL Central lead.
The Indians had won three in a row and were aiming for a three-game sweep of Kansas City over the weekend, but suffered a 6-2 loss Sunday afternoon.
Fausto Carmona was saddled with the loss, his 13th of the season, after he surrendered three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Jason Donald's two-run homer in the sixth inning provided the scoring for Cleveland, which is 3-3 on a nine-game homestand.
"We had chances. We had opportunities," Donald said.
Mitch Talbot draws the start for the Tribe this evening and he's 8-11 with a 4.44 earned run average in 23 starts. He is 0-5 with a 5.87 ERA in his last eight starts, with the Indians going 2-6 in that stretch,
Talbot previously toed the rubber in a 6-1 setback to Oakland last Wednesday, as he allowed six runs and six hits in six innings. He has won all three starts against the White Sox this season, lasting 23 innings to go along with a 1.57 earned run average.
Cleveland is 8-4 against the AL Central-rival White Sox this season.