Well, the Sox have managed to maintain a one-game lead in the AL Central, thanks to Mother Nature. Now, they will venture off on their final roadtrip of the season. First stop: Minnesota to deal with the Twins. Here is what you need to know for the weekend series:

2012 Record: White Sox 76-66, 1st in AL Central. Twins 60-84, 4th in AL Central

2012 Season Series: 11-4

All-Time Series Record: 380-419  (The Sox are 172-226 at Minnesota)

The following pitchers are expected to start this weekend:

Chris Sale: 16-6, 2.8 ERA, 168K vs. Esmerling Vasquez: 0-1, 9.35 ERA, 4K

Jose Quintana: 6-4, 3.52 ERA,  72K vs. Samuel Deduno: 6-3, 3.55 ERA, 48K

Jake Peavy: 10-11, 3.27 ERA, 171K vs. Cole De Vries: 5-5, 4.11 ERA, 58K

Friday’s game is at 7:10 pm, Saturday’s game is at 12:10 pm and Sunday’s game is at 1:10 pm. All times CDT. 

Do you ever just wish that the division was decided already? That you could stop sitting on your couch worrying about every single pitch thrown, every swing at the plate. That you could just watch the games and know your team is off to the post season? Yeah, that feeling won’t come any time soon for Sox fans. While the Sox still remain in first place, it is by the slimmest of margins. The only good news is that the Tigers, who trail them by one game, are facing their achilles heel this weekend in the Cleveland Indians.

The Sox on the other hand are facing their former achilles heel, the Twins. The Sox this season have handled the Twins with relative ease. This thanks to a pitching staff that gives up plenty of easy balls to hit very far and that find holes on the field. The Sox could also bring the tragic season to a close for the Twins this weekend. The Twins now have a tragic number of three and if they get swept, then it is just playing out the string of games making life miserable for other teams in the hunt.

In their last 10 games, the Twins have played .500 baseball. The Sox on the other hand have gone 4-6 in the last 10. The Twins won their last game while the Sox have lost the last two games they have played. There is no doubt that these games will be intense. They should be easy, but everyone knows the Sox don’t make things easy.

Who’s Hot: Alex Rios is hitting .333 in his last 12 at-bats. Jamey Carroll has a 10-game hitting streak. Who’s Not: Dayan Viciedo has drawn the collar in his last 12 at-bats. Josh Willingham is hitting just .167 in his last 12 at-bats.