CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- The first two-and-a-half months of the MLB season have shown the White Sox have one of the best starting rotations in the game and can generate offense at a high level even without the home run ball.
That makes them one of the best teams in the game, but this week also brings a new question. How do the White Sox stack up head-to-head against some of the best?
We got a glimpse Monday, when the White Sox fell 5-2 to the MLB-best Rays. A half-game separated the teams entering their three-game series. Tampa Bay (43-24) now leads Chicago (41-25) by 1.5 games for the best record not just in the American League but all of MLB.
After the series against the Rays, the White Sox visit the Astros (37-28) for a four-game series, which begins Thursday.
"You certainly know a good team is coming in," White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn said Monday. "You look at what Tampa has done over the past couple of years. They are a small-market team that always finds a way to put good talent on the field. They are a really good team. We have some guys who are seeing what a team that has been in the World Series looks like. This is a good challenge for us overall. A mid-June challenge, which is fine. We just have to keep going."
Entering Tuesday, the White Sox are 28-7 against teams under .500 and 13-18 against teams .500 or better.
"In this game, there are only a few players that are that good enough to amp up their games and then scale back and be productive winners," White Sox manager Tony La Russa said in explaining the White Sox discrepancy in records against above and below .500 teams. "Teams cannot do that. We give the Tigers our best shot and Tampa our best shot."
The White Sox have an MLB-best +103 run differential, which is further evidence for why they're one of the best in the league. But they know they'll have to prove it on the field against the best, not just by routing inferior competition like they did in sweeping the Tigers last weekend.
With that in mind, Lynn stressed the importance of carrying an even-keeled approach into each game, no matter who the opponent is.
"If you try to elevate your game against certain teams, you will try too hard and weird things will happen," Lynn said. "When you play against a team who was in the World Series last year, you learn that if they make a mistake, you don't miss it. You learn to execute your game day in and day out no matter what team you are playing."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
