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Porcello gets nod for Tigers in finale at Chicago

Aug 31, 2014 - 12:44 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Rick Porcello goes after his third straight win when the Detroit Tigers conclude a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.

Porcello tossed a three-hit shutout in a 6-0 win at Tampa Bay on Aug. 20, then delivered eight innings of two-run ball in a 5-2 defeat of the New York Yankees on Tuesday. He improved to 15-8 with a 3.06 earned run average and his back-to-back winning starts follow a personal three-game slide.

The right-hander, who is 9-4 on the road, has made 18 career starts against the White Sox, going 9-6 with a 4.10 ERA in that time. Porcello lost his only start against Chicago on June 9, when he was reached for six runs -- five earned -- and nine hits in five innings of a 6-5 loss.

Porcello hasn't walked a batter in a start since Aug. 2.

Detroit earned a split of its doubleheader with the White Sox on Saturday and is now tied with Kansas City atop the AL Central. The Tigers lost the first game, 6-3, as Chicago ace Chris Sale outdueled Max Scherzer for the win. Sale struck out 13 batters and allowed three runs in seven innings, while Scherzer gave up six runs -- five earned -- in 6 2/3 frames.

Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez both homered in defeat.

In the nightcap, Kyle Ryan made his debut for the Tigers and fired six shutout innings in an 8-4 victory.

"I was certainly happy," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said on Ryan. "He gave us a huge boost."

Kinsler drove in three runs with three hits and both Don Kelly and Ezequiel Carrera had three hits apiece.

Detroit has won six of its last eight games and will visit Cleveland next for four games. The Indians have thrust themselves into the AL Central mix and sit 3 1/2 games off the pace.

Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera left the game in the fourth inning Saturday night with an ankle issue and his status for Sunday is uncertain. Cabrera is batting .299 with 17 homers and 91 RBI this season.

"We really want Miggy in the lineup because he's such a valuable part of the team, such a good player, and he's just a presence being in the lineup," Ausmus said. "We obviously need him to be healthy, too, so it's such a delicate balance."

The White Sox got a glimpse of Chris Bassitt in his major league debut last night and he was reached for five runs in 6 1/3 innings for the loss.

"Nervous a little bit, yeah," Bassitt said. "It was a great lineup I was going up against, but I mean, I try to say the same thing: 'It's baseball. It's still the same game.' Just try to go out there and compete as much as I could."

Dayan Viciedo hit a three-run homer during a four-run eighth inning for the White Sox, who have lost 10 of the past 12 games and will visit Minnesota and Cleveland over the next five games.

Jose Quintana gets the nod for the Pale Hose Sunday and is 6-10 with a 3.48 earned run average. Quintana is winless (0-3) in his last five appearances and did not receive a decision in Tuesday's 8-6 loss to Cleveland, charged with six runs and nine hits in five innings.

Quintana has allowed at least four runs in each of his last three trips to the mound (14 runs total) and last prevailed on July 29 at Detroit, where he threw six innings of two-run ball in an 11-4 triumph. The lefty, who is 1-3 in 12 home starts, has a 3-1 record and a 3.22 ERA in seven career starts against the Tigers.