Seattle @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 24, 2014 ) Chi. White Sox 7, Seattle 6

The Seattle Mariners invade Chicago for a three-game series with the White Sox beginning Friday with four consecutive victories in tow and a far different outlook from a season ago. Seattle (47-38), which capped a three-game game sweep in Houston with a 5-2 victory Wednesday, was 37-47 at this point in 2013 and its 9 1/2-game improvement has it squarely in American League West Division - and wild card - contention to reach the postseason for the first time since 2001. The Mariners have won six straight on the road and are 26-16 away from home, providing an excellent chance to finish above .500 on the road for the first time since 2003.

Chicago, meanwhile, is coming off a series loss to the Los Angeles Angels and is 7-13 in its last 20 contests since it was 33-33 on June 11. "You just have to be able to withstand it and keep going," manager Robin Ventura told mlb.com. "You see the positives that are there, you see the way we play for a run for a certain extent and then you can't sustain it. That's the frustrating part. But the good part, you do see things that are in there that you know it's in there." The White Sox' Chris Sale is riding a three-game unbeaten streak while overcoming a rare bout of wildness in his last turn and opposes Roenis Elias, who is enjoying a solid rookie season.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), CSN Chicago

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Roenis Elias (7-6, 3.96 ERA) vs. White Sox LH Chris Sale (7-1, 2.30)

Elias yielded five runs and six hits - including the fifth homer in his last five starts - in six innings of a 5-0 loss to Cleveland on Saturday, which snapped a two-game winning streak. "It was just a bad outing," the 25-year-old Cuban, who yielded two runs over 13 2/3 frames in winning his previous two starts, told reporters through a translator. "I didn't make pitches and they hit them." Elias, who is 5-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.19 WHIP against in eight road outings, has never faced Chicago.

Sale walked five - more than in his previous seven starts - but allowed only two runs and four hits in seven innings while striking out six in a 4-3 victory at Toronto on Saturday. ''I felt like I had good stuff, I just didn't know where it was going for the most part,'' the 25-year-old Florida native told reporters. Sale, who gave up a career-high 11 hits while earning a no-decision against Baltimore in his previous outing, is 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in five games (three starts) against Seattle.

WALK-OFFS

1. Mariners 3B Kyle Seager is batting .420 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in his last 18 games.

2. White Sox 1B Jose Abreu (.280, 26 homers, 67 RBIs), who was the American League Rookie of the Month for June, has a 17-game hitting streak.

3. The teams split six meetings last season but Chicago is 27-7 against Seattle since 2010, including 16-3 at home.

PREDICTION: White Sox 3, Mariners 2