(Sports Network) - The hottest team in baseball puts an eight-game win streak on the line tonight at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field, where the scorching White Sox entertain the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a battle between first-place clubs.

Chicago's remarkable run began when the team took the final two tests of a four-game series against the Angels from May 12-15. The wins propelled the White Sox to a three-game interleague sweep at San Francisco this past weekend, and they continued their surge by winning all three meetings with defending American League Central champion Cleveland prior to this set.

The White Sox completed the crucial home sweep of the Indians with Thursday's 3-1 victory. Chicago snapped a 1-1 deadlock by scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye each coming through with RBI singles.

Quentin also knocked in a run earlier in the game and finished 2-for-4 to raise his season average to .299. The offseason acquisition leads the Sox with 12 home runs and 40 RBI this season.

Scott Linebrink (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless inning in relief of Mark Buehrle, who held Cleveland to one run and just two hits over the first seven frames. Bobby Jenks closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his 12th save.

Chicago now owns a 3 1/2-game advantage on second-place Minnesota in the AL Central and is on its longest win streak since it reeled off nine consecutive victories from June 15-24, 2006.

The Angels come in with a 2 1/2-game lead in the AL West standings after winning twice in three matchups at Toronto. Anaheim did have a three-game win streak halted, however, with a 4-3 setback to the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Toronto's Lyle Overbay belted a tie-breaking solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, and three Blue Jay relievers combined to hold the Angels scoreless over the final three frames.

Garret Anderson and Casey Kotchman each went 2-for-4 for Anaheim, which also received RBI doubles from Maicer Izturis and Sean Rodriguez in the loss.

Ervin Santana (6-2) suffered his second defeat of the season after allowing four runs on nine hits in six-plus innings, although he did record seven strikeouts.

The opener of this three-game series features a pair of young pitchers off to terrific starts in the Angels' Joe Saunders and White Sox righty Gavin Floyd.

Saunders' seven victories trails only Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka for the most in the AL at the moment, while the left-hander's 2.48 earned run average ranks fifth among hurlers in the Junior Circuit. However, he will have to overcome a bout with the flu that caused the former first-round pick to have his scheduled start on Thursday pushed back to tonight.

The 26-year-old improved to 7-1 on the year after yielding two runs and five hits over 7 1/3 innings in a 4-2 decision over the Dodgers on May 16. Saunders has also performed quite well on the road so far, as his 3-1 record and 2.13 ERA in four away starts will attest.

Saunders is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in two career starts against the White Sox, although he did limit Chicago to a run and two hits in a six-inning no- decision at U.S. Cellular Field last September.

Floyd, the No. 4 overall selection in the 2001 draft, appears to be finally living up to his advanced billing after a failed three-year stint in Philadelphia and a mediocre first season with the White Sox last year. The 25- year-old has not allowed an earned run in four of his eight 2008 starts and brings an impressive 2.92 ERA into tonight's tilt.

The Maryland native is coming off an excellent outing at San Francisco on May 16, in which Floyd gave up just four hits over six shutout innings to lead Chicago to a 2-0 victory.

Floyd, who will be facing the Angels for the first time, is also 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three home starts this year. In two of those matchups, he carried a no-hitter deep into the game.

These teams split four encounters in Anaheim earlier this month, as well as six meetings in Chicago during the 2007 campaign.