Opposite dugout: White Sox ride strong pitching into AL Central top spot

Manager: Robin Ventura (5th season)

Record: 16-6

Last 10 games: 8-2

Who to watch: LF Melky Cabrera (.312), CF Adam Eaton (.298), 3B Todd Frazier (5 HR, 13 RBIs), 1B Jose Abreu (10 RBIs), RHP Mat Latos (4-0, 0.74 ERA), LHP Chris Sale (5-0, 1.66 ERA), RHP David Robertson (8 saves, 0.87 ERA)

Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (3-3 in 2015)

Pitching probables:

April 28: LHP John Danks vs. RHP Tyler Wilson, 7:05 p.m., MASN2
April 29: LHP Carlos Rodon vs. RHP Mike Wright, 7:05 p.m., MAN
April 30: RHP Mat Latos vs. RHP Kevin Gausman, 7:05 p.m., MASN2
May 1: LHP Chris Sale vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 1:35 p.m., MASN

Inside the White Sox:

You know how savvy real estate agents tell you that there's only one thing that's important in their business: location, location and location? Well, it's pretty easy to figure out why the White Sox have been one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball through the early portion of the season: pitching, pitching and pitching. The southsiders are tops in the American League in ERA (2.24), quality starts (17), opponent batting average (.207) and WHIP (1.03). Let's just say the arms are carrying the load.

They come into Baltimore on a six-game winning streak after sweeping the Blue Jays. The White Sox has been stingy with the runs, yielding one or less runs 11 times already this season. They're 10-3 on the road, posses the AL's best record and are in first place in the AL Central. That's an unusual position for a club that spent 11 days in the divisional top spot from 2013-15, and has already roosted there for 17 days in 2016.

Even though a big bat in the middle of the lineup has been scuffling - first baseman Jose Abreu is hitting only .190 with three home runs and 10 RBIs - the offense has been chugging right along. A lot of the credit for that goes to a pair of veterans: left fielder Melky Cabrera is hitting .312, mostly out of the five-hole, and table-setting center fielder Adam Eaton, who is batting .298. With third baseman Todd Frazier, an offseason acquisition from the Reds, leading the team with five homers and 13 RBIs, and a resurgent second baseman Brett Lawrie (.266) picking up some of the slack, the White Sox can afford to wait for Abreu to revert to form.

Chicago will throw three left-handers at the Orioles during the four-game series that begins Thursday night, starting with John Danks, who is currently the weakest link in the rotation with an 0-3 record and 6.23 ERA. Danks hasn't posted a winning record since 2010, but is 6-5 with a 3.90 ERA In 13 career starts versus the Orioles. Friday starter Carlos Rodon had one bad start - he got one out against the Angels on April 18 and gave up five runs - and that's skewed his stats to look worse than they are. In his other three starts, Rodon has gone at least six innings and not allowed more than two runs. This will be his first career start at Camden Yards, though he's 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA against the Orioles in two appearances, including a start, in his brief career. Righty Mat Latos, Saturday night's starter, has posted a 4-0 record and stingy .074 ERA in four starts - no small achievement considering his 10.38 ERA in three Cactus League starts after the White Sox signed him as a free agent in February. The flier has paid off, at least in the short term, and Latos looks a lot more like the pitcher who three times in four years between 2010 and 2013 won 14 games. He's faced the Orioles once in his career, allowing five runs in five innings in a loss at Camden Yards. As good as Latos has been, Sunday starter Chris Sale has been even better, starting the season 5-0. The lefty has yielded two runs on six hits over 15 innings in his last two starts. He's been tough on the Birds in Baltimore, posting a 1-1 record and 2.70 ERA in six games (three starts) in his career at Camden Yards.

If the starting pitchers struggle, there are plenty of reinforcements in the White Sox bullpen, where no one has an ERA higher than 3.12. Closer David Robertson has converted eight of nine save chances to go along with an 0.96 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. But the biggest surprise may be long-ago Oriole Matt Albers, who came to Baltimore from the Astros in the Miguel Tejada trade. The White Sox are Albers' fifth big league club since leaving Baltimore in 2010, and just when he seemed primed to become a journeyman reliever, Albers morphed into a pitcher who specializes in zeros. He is unscored upon in 33 innings over his last 30 appearances, the longest active streaks in the majors.