White Sox lose their fifth in a row

CHICAGO -- This is not how the Chicago White Sox envisioned the final week of what had been such a successful season.

They’ve lost five straight, played ugly baseball along the way, fallen out of first and then failed to take advantage of two straight opportunities to re-claim the top spot in the Central Division. “I don’t know how to describe it -- lucky?” Manager Ozzie Guillen said after Saturday’s 12-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Lucky from the standpoint that somehow, despite the collapse, the White Sox are still alive entering the final day of the regular season. If Chicago, a half-game behind Minnesota in the division, wins today, it will play Detroit in a makeup game Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.

If the Twins and White Sox are tied after Monday, they would play a one-game playoff Tuesday in Chicago.