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White Sox try to force one-game playoff

Sep 29, 2008 - 1:36 PM DETROIT (74-87) AT CHI WHITE SOX (87-74), 2:05pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Detroit Tigers have nothing to play for, but the Chicago White Sox have everything to play for.

While the Tigers' playoff chances essentially evaporated months ago, the White Sox will try to keep their hopes alive on Monday when they host the Tigers in a make-up game.

The afternoon tilt has major playoff implications, as a White Sox win would force a one-game playoff with the Minnesota Twins (88-74) to decide the American League Central. That game would be played on Tuesday in Chicago.

The White Sox certainly haven't been playing like a playoff team lately, as they dropped five in a row this past week to see their 2.5-game lead in the division evaporate.

They finally snapped that skid on Sunday with a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians - and just in time, too. The Twins, who defeated the Kansas City Royals, 6-0, would have clinched the division otherwise.

In order to try to get back to the postseason, the White Sox will have to defeat a man who was a key contributor the last time they got there. Tigers righthander Freddy Garcia (1-1, 4.50 ERA) won all three of his playoff starts in 2005 as the White Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1917.

On Monday, he would certainly love nothing more than to beat the team that dealt him away just one year later.

Chicago put its fate into the capable hands of Gavin Floyd (16-8, 3.91), whom they acquired in 2006 in the very deal that sent Freddy Garcia to the Philadelphia Phillies. Floyd was the fourth overall pick of the 2001 draft by the Phillies.

The White Sox likely got the better of the deal, as Floyd has emerged as a potential future ace this season. However, he hasn't been at his best lately, having won just one of his last five starts and registering a hefty 5.40 ERA during that span.

What the White Sox will need is the Floyd of early April rather than late September. The 25-year-old righthander began 2008 with back-to-back wins over the Tigers, who he will see once again on Monday.

Floyd threw seven innings of one-hit ball in a 7-0 victory on August 12, striking out four and walking four. He is 3-0 with a 3.45 ERA against the Tigers in eight career starts.

Garcia spent just one disappointing season in Philadelphia, during which he suffered through a nagging right shoulder injury and made just 11 starts. He went 1-5.

He was finally healthy enough to return to the majors late this summer, when the Tigers signed him to a minor-league deal. He gave up just one unearned run and two hits over five innings in his 2008 debut, a 17-4 win over the Texas Rangers, but struggled last Tuesday in a losing effort against the Royals.