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Minus Sale, White Sox resume set with Tigers

Apr 22, 2014 - 2:56 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago White Sox had hoped to have ace Chris Sale on the hill Tuesday in the second test of a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

However, Sale, who has been as good as any pitcher in baseball in the early going, posting a 3-0 mark to go along with a 2.30 ERA, is headed towards the disabled list with a strained muscle in his throwing arm.

An MRI revealed no ligament damage, but the White Sox are erring on the side of caution.

"There's certainly at this point no reason to believe it's going to linger beyond the 15 days," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "We could have tried to push him back a few days and a decent chance he would have been able to take the ball maybe against Tampa Bay. Again, it's not worth it."

So instead the White Sox will rely on lefty Charlie Leesman, who will be making the second big league start of his career. Leesman made eight appearances (1 start) for the White Sox last season and did not record a decision, despite pitching to a 7.04 ERA.

Leesman was 0-2 with a 1.59 ERA in three starts with Triple-A Charlotte this season.

Detroit, meanwhile, will counter with its ace, Justin Verlander, as he tries to win his third straight start. Verlander beat the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, as he surrendered three unearned runs and six hits in five innings. He also walked four batters, but improved to 2-1, while lowering his ERA to 2.08.

"Justin wasn't himself in the sense that he didn't go very deep in the game," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "But he obviously still kept us in the game."

Verlander is 14-12 lifetime versus the White Sox with a 4.03 ERA in 29 starts.

Chicago grabbed the early series lead on Monday as Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo each smacked an RBI double in a three-run seventh inning to power the White Sox to a 3-1 win.

John Danks (2-0) allowed a run on six hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings for the White Sox, who have won two in a row on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Matt Lindstrom fired a scoreless ninth to notch his second save of the year.

Torii Hunter had two hits and scored a run for Detroit, which has dropped four of seven. Anibal Sanchez (0-2) surrendered three runs on five hits and a walk over 6 1/3 frames to get the loss.

"I felt great, and then everything happened in a hurry," Sanchez said.

Detroit was 12-7 against the Chicago last season.