New York @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2011 ) NY Yankees 6, Chi. White Sox 0

THE STORY: The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox are veering in opposite directions as they prepare for the third of a four-game series Wednesday night in Chicago. New York has won the first two games of the series to extend its winning streak to five games and remain one game behind AL East-leading Boston. The White Sox, on the other hand, have dropped four in a row to drop 5 ½ games behind front-running Detroit in the AL Central. Chicago turns to one of its hottest pitchers in Gavin Floyd to halt the slide. A.J. Burnett gets the nod for the Yankees.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH A.J. Burnett (8-9, 4.23 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Gavin Floyd (9-9, 3.96 ERA).

Burnett seems to have developed a knack for coming out on the wrong end of a decision. He struck out 10 in a 4-2 loss to Baltimore last time out, dropping his third straight decision and stretching his winless streak to five starts. Burnett hasn't fared well against Chicago, going 2-5 with a 4.84 ERA. He suffered a 2-0 loss to the White Sox on April 25 despite allowing one run on three hits in eight innings.

Floyd has been lights out since the All-Star break, winning all three of his starts and allowing only three runs and 13 hits in 22 1/3 innings while beating Detroit, Cleveland and Boston. The 28-year-old righthander skidded into the All-Star break with an 0-4 mark in a span of six starts. He won at Yankee Stadium on April 26, striking out a season-high 10 batters and giving up two runs in eight innings.

ABOUT THE WHITE SOX (52-56): Missing slugger Paul Konerko for a second straight game with a bruised calf, Chicago went down meekly Tuesday night, managing only three singles against previously struggling Yankees starter Phil Hughes. Konerko, who was hit by a pitch in Sunday’s game at Boston, will take batting practice Wednesday to assess his condition. Adam Dunn, who was signed to a four-year, $56 million contract in the offseason, had one of the hits against Hughes after striking out six times in nine at-bats in his previous two games. He is batting .165 with 10 homers, including one in the last 16 games.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (66-42): Red-hot Mark Teixeira went 3-for-3 to give him 10 hits in his last 15 at-bats. He hit two homers to give him 31 for the season and put him one behind Toronto’s Jose Bautista for the major league lead. Teixeira, who has reached 30 homers for eight straight seasons, set a major league record by going deep from both sides of the plate for the 12th time in his career. Eddie Murray and Chili Davis had shared the record. Derek Jeter collected two hits to move past Rafael Palmeiro for 24th place on the career list with 3,022. He is one behind Lou Brock.

FINAL PITCH: The Yankees are making a habit of landing an early knockout blow. They have outscored their opponents 25-2 in the first three innings of the last five games.