Short-handed Tribe needs win in Chicago

Having scored 34 runs their last three games, the Chicago White Sox are getting offensive contributions throughout their lineup. However, no one in the majors may be hotter than Paul Konerko. Konerko and the White Sox will go for their season-high fifth straight win Sunday when they try to complete a home sweep of the Cleveland Indians. Chicago has come alive in the last four games of its homestand, batting .336 with 12 home runs and 40 runs scored. The White Sox (25-22) followed their 9-3 win over the Indians on Friday with a 14-7 victory Saturday. Konerko had four hits, Dayan Viciedo drove in five runs while homering for a third straight game and Alex Rios added three hits, including his third home run in four games. Konerko, who had three doubles, extended his hitting streak to 12 games and raised his batting average to a major league-leading .396. He is 21 for his last 32 (.656) with four homers and 10 RBIs. "You just try to control what you can control and work. That's it," he said. "You just try to ride out a good wave if you've got it. It'll change. The good news is that everybody else is chipping in." His impressive stretch has coincided with a solid run by Viciedo, who is hitting .413 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in his last 12 games. Chicago has won eight of nine and is trying to sweep the Indians in a three-game series at home for the first time since 2008. Cleveland (26-20) will try to avoid matching its longest losing streak of the season in the finale, but will field a short-handed lineup. The Indians came to Chicago having won eight of 10, but they were already without Travis Hafner, who is sidelined because of inflammation in his right knee, and they have since lost Carlos Santana (mild concussion) and Asdrubal Cabrera (tight left hamstring). Manager Manny Acta said Santana is likely headed to the seven-day concussion list and Cabrera is day to day. "I just don't think we have the depth of some clubs to absorb these type of injuries," Acta said before the game. "We're not talking about a backup going down. We're talking about our three, four, five in our lineup." After two poor outings by Indians starters, Ubaldo Jimenez (5-3, 5.02 ERA) will try to get them back on track as he goes for his third straight win. On Tuesday against Detroit, Jimenez allowed three runs in six innings for a second straight start, overcoming six walks in a 5-3 victory. Walks were much more costly for him against the White Sox on May 1. He issued six and allowed seven runs - four earned - over 4 2-3 innings of a 7-2 loss. Gavin Floyd (3-5, 4.66) has also struggled with his control. He has been knocked around his last two starts, giving up seven runs and 10 hits against the Los Angeles Angels on May 16, then allowing nine runs in 3 2-3 innings of a 9-2 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. The right-hander hasn't faced the Indians this season, but is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA against them at U.S. Cellular Field in his career. He'll certainly want to pitch carefully to Jason Kipnis, who hit a pair of two-run homers Saturday. A native of the Chicago suburbs, Kipnis is batting .480 (12 of 25) in seven games at U.S. Cellular Field.