(Sports Network) - With their advantage in the American League Central standings beginning to shrink, the Chicago White Sox try to close out a three- game interleague set against the Colorado Rockies on a positive note this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.

Since winning seven in a row following manager Ozzie Guillen's most recent temper tantrum, the White Sox have dropped four of their last five contests and are now ahead in the division by just 4 1/2 games over Minnesota.

On Saturday the Sox were shut out for the seventh time this season, with all but one of those games being decided by two runs or less. AJ Pierzynski had two hits and Brian Anderson the other in a weak offensive effort for Chicago in the 2-0 setback.

Starter John Danks held Colorado scoreless over six innings, permitting just five hits, while striking out six. Octavio Dotel pitched only one inning and surrendered a run, leaving him with his third setback of the campaign.

Jeff Baker and Yorvit Torrealba each scored a run for Colorado, while the trio of Willy Taveras, Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe all picked up a pair of hits on the road.

Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa fanned eight and walked just one, to go along with one hit allowed, in five innings of action. Relievers Jason Grilli and Brian Fuentes were rewarded with the win and save, respectively.

Getting his first-ever start against the White Sox this afternoon is Aaron Cook, who is 9-3 on the season and has won two of his last three outings.

The right-hander is now in his seventh major league season, all with Colorado, and has played a part in one-third of the team's victories thus far. Against San Francisco on Tuesday Cook permitted nine hits over seven innings of work, but just three earned runs, walking one and striking out three in the 10-5 win.

As for the White Sox, they have Jose Contreras slated to take the mound today, with the right-hander eyeing his third win in as many starts against the Rockies.

Contreras, who began his career with the New York Yankees in 2003, had been pitching well since the second week of May, but on Tuesday the 36-year old went from allowing no more than two runs in any one of his previous six outings to six runs on 13 hits over six innings in a 6-4 loss to Detroit on the road.

The 13 hits allowed by Contreras were the most this season, with his lone strikeout being the fewest in that department in any one appearance in 2008.

Over his last six games with the Rockies, Garrett Atkins has been one of the top producers at the plate with his five RBI and five runs scored. Although he's only gone to the plate 13 times in the last week, Ryan Spilborghs appears to have hit the skids with just a single hit to his credit. Ian Stewart has two of the team's six home runs in the last week, but he's hitting just .200 during the stretch.

As a unit the White Sox are tied with Texas for the most home runs in the American League with 86, and Nick Swisher has been a big part of that over the last seven games with three long balls of his own, resulting in seven RBI.

However, there remains some concern for Joe Crede (.150), Carlos Quentin (.154) and Jermaine Dye (.192) who have all fallen into minor hitting slumps over the last week of play for Chicago.