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Tied with the Indians for the American League's worst record, the three-game weekend series against the White Sox could be the one that finally sees the Twins officially eliminated from the playoffs. In fact, only two losses over the weekend would be enough to take the magic number to zero and end the season for good.
The Twins will instead play the role of spoiler as they attempt to ruin the playoff hopes of the AL Central-leading White Sox over the weekend. In the first game of the series on Friday, the Twins will send out Esmerling Vasquez for his third start of the season as he looks for his first win. Vasquez has yet to pitch past the sixth inning and has allowed nine runs in two starts.
He will be facing off against Chris Sale, the Chicago left-hander with 16 wins in 2012. His last win came in his most recent start, as he allowed just one run to the Royals in six innings pitched.
Friday's game is scheduled to begin at Target Field at 8:10 p.m ET and will be televised on FOX Sports North and CSN-Chicago.
For more in-depth coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and White Sox blog South Side Sox. And for more news, notes and analysis from around Major League Baseball, check out Baseball Nation.