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Tigers-White Sox Preview

Sep 25, 2009 - 4:49 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Detroit (81-70) at Chicago (73-80), 8:11 p.m. EDT

The Chicago White Sox still have a chance to be involved in the AL Central race. Just not the way they would have liked.

On the verge of being officially eliminated from postseason contention, Jake Peavy looks to help the host White Sox avoid a fifth consecutive loss Friday night in the opener of a weekend series against the first-place Detroit Tigers.

After being swept by second-place Minnesota earlier this week, Chicago (73-80) has dropped seven of eight and a loss in any of the three games against Detroit will end any playoff hopes.

"It's always disappointing when you look up and you lose games and you have an under .500 record and you have no chance of going to the postseason," Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "It's very frustrating and it all stinks."

The Tigers (82-70) are 7-5 against Chicago this season and have a three-game lead over Minnesota after beating Cleveland 6-5 on Thursday for their fourth straight victory. Detroit hosts the Twins in a four-game series starting Monday.

"Any game at this point is important," Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge said. "We need to win them all."

The White Sox, however, face the Tigers six times, including the final series of the season and could have a say in who wins the Central.

"It will be a baseball historical miracle if we came back," reliever Matt Thornton told the White Sox official Web site. "It doesn't matter if we get knocked out. You have to go out and play hard and keep on competing. Prove what you can do out there."

The Tigers will get their first look at Peavy (1-0, 5.40 ERA) in a Chicago uniform.

In his first start since being acquired from San Diego on July 31, Peavy allowed three runs, three hits and struck out five in five innings of a 13-3 win over Kansas City on Saturday during his first major-league outing after an ankle injury kept him out since June 8.

"Once you get out there, it's like riding a bike. It comes back to you," Peavy said. "I did some things well and some things not so well. I got a long way to go to be where I want to be."

The right-hander lost his only previous appearance versus Detroit after allowing three earned runs in six innings of an 8-4 Padres loss on June 14, 2005.

Placido Polanco is 5 for 10 against Peavy and delivered a key RBI single in the eighth inning Thursday for the Tigers, who are 4-2 on a nine-game swing to close out their road schedule.

Carlos Guillen added three hits for the second straight contest and is 7 for 9 with six RBIs in his last three contests. He's batting .300 with a homer in five games versus the White Sox this season.

Eddie Bonine (0-0, 5.96) is scheduled to make his third start this season for the Tigers. He surrendered three runs and six hits in five innings of a 4-3 win over Kansas City on Sept. 16.

In his only start versus the White Sox, the right-hander allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings of a 4-3 win on July 24.

Jermaine Dye is 2 for 5 with a home run against Bonine, and hit a pair of two-run homers in Chicago's 8-6 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Despite hitting a disappointing .253, Dye has three home runs and six RBIs against the Tigers this season.