The American League Central is slowly starting to slip away from the Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland has lost five of its last six to fall 2 1/2 games back of the division lead, but it will have a chance to make up some ground on Friday when it opens a three-game series against the visiting Chicago White Sox
Luckily for the Guardians, the first-place Minnesota Twins haven't been able to run away with the AL Central just yet, as they also have been struggling, losing six of their last seven games before beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Thursday
But frustration is starting to mount for Cleveland, which was more of a seller than buyer at Tuesday's trade deadline
The Guardians dealt shortstop Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers and shipped right-hander Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays in the days leading up to the deadline, then traded Josh Bell to the Miami Marlins just before the deadline
Cleveland didn't respond well to the moves, getting no-hit by Framber Valdez in a 2-0 loss on Tuesday before suffering a 3-2 setback on Wednesday that completed a three-game sweep by the Houston Astros
"We have no control over what's happened the past week," Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee said. "I think the only thing we can really do is put our head down (and) play some good baseball. If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, it doesn't.
Left-hander Logan Allen (4-4, 3.70 ERA) will look to help Cleveland pick up the pieces when he makes his 16th start of the season on Friday
In his most recent outing, Allen also faced the White Sox, taking the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings last Saturday. He is 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA in three starts against Chicago this season
Right-hander Mike Clevinger (4-4, 3.59) will oppose Allen. He earned the win during last Saturday's meeting between the clubs, giving up just two hits across five shutout innings
Clevinger is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA in four career starts against the Guardians
The White Sox have been experiencing an offensive lull of their own and have scored just four runs during their current four-game losing streak. Three of those runs came in the first inning of Thursday's game against the Texas Rangers, but Chicago was held scoreless the rest of the way in a 5-3 setback
"I mean we've had fun at points (this season)," said White Sox catcher Seby Zavala, who hit a solo home run in Chicago's 11-1 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday. "But we just have to do it more consistently, because coming to the field when you are losing every day, it really sucks. We have to figure it out.
Sellers at the deadline, the White Sox got their first look at outfielder Trayce Thompson on Wednesday after activating him from the 60-day injured list
Thompson was acquired from the Dodgers last Friday as part of the deal that sent right-handers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to Los Angeles. He went 0-for-4 in his debut
"Given the type of season we (have) had, it makes sense to improve our future at the cost of the current (2023) club," Chicago general manager Rick Hahn said
--Field Level Medi