White Sox 4 - 6 Tigers
Final
  for this game

Tigers try to pad first-place lead in finale with White Sox

Jul 22, 2012 - 1:11 PM

Video

(Sports Network) - The Detroit Tigers will try for a home sweep of the AL Central-rival Chicago White Sox as the three-game weekend series concludes Sunday Afternoon at Comerica Park.

The Tigers took care of business on Saturday afternoon in easy fashion, beating the White Sox 7-1 and taking over sole possession of first place in the division in the process.

After four scoreless innings, it was Chicago that struck first in the top of the fifth with a Dayan Viciedo RBI single, but Detroit answered with seven unanswered runs to end the game.

Austin Jackson went 2-for-4 with four RBI and is now hitting .317 on the season. Brennan Boesch belted his 10th home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Rick Porcello (7-5) put together one of his finest outings of the year, pitching eight strong innings while allowing just five hits and one earned run, striking out four and walking none.

"On paper, you can say whatever you want, but if you don't perform on the field then it means nothing," Porcello said of the Tigers coming on of late after a slow start to the season. "We all believed in each other, and we've still got a lot of work to do. This isn't over yet. This is just getting started."

It was a rare poor performance from Chris Sale (11-3), who allowed seven hits, four walks and five earned runs in seven innings of work. It was only the second time all season that Sale has allowed five earned runs in a start.

Philip Humber will pitch for the White Sox on Sunday and despite throwing a perfect game back in April, he has struggled for most of the year with a 4-4 record and a 5.77 ERA.

Humber returned to the rotation on July 17 after missing more than a month with a right flexor strain, pitching six innings while allowing six hits and two earned runs in a 7-5 win over Boston.

"This was what we expect out of him in locating and keeping people off balance," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of Humber's return to the rotation. "He was getting ahead early and then locating in key counts and not really giving them a whole lot to swing at."

The right-hander has found some success against Detroit in limited opportunities in his career, striking out 13 in 11 innings with a 3.27 ERA.

Making his third start of the season for the Tigers is Jacob Turner, who is 0-1 with a 10.29 ERA.

The ninth overall pick in 2009 got knocked around in his last start, going two innings and allowing six hits, two walks, three homers and seven earned runs in a 13-0 loss to the Angels on July 17.

The 21-year-old right-hander is looking for his first career win.

The Tigers have taken 14 of 17 meetings with the White Sox at Comerica.






Related News