Chicago @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2009 ) Chi. White Sox 3, Detroit 5
The Detroit Tigers are clearly on a roll.
The Chicago White Sox are clearly going nowhere.
The AL Central rivals are heading in opposite directions when square off Tuesday at Comerica Park. Monday's contest was rained out.
The Tigers have won five of seven on their homestand against two of the league's big boys. Detroit took three of four from the New York Yankees before winning two of three from the Boston Red Sox.
So, how have they done it? Well, with a combination of solid starting pitching, timely hitting and clutch work from the bullpen.
A popular pick to win the division, the White Sox have struggled all season.
Chicago already trails the first-place Minnesota Twins by 8.5 games and only the Kansas City Royals are keeping the White Sox out of last place. The White Sox dropped two of three to the Royals over the weekend, becoming only the second team to lose a series to Kansas City this season.
Chicago has lost six of nine and is 6-12 on the road. The White Sox are 6-11 against division opponents.
Detroit's Rick Porcello is coming off his best start of the season. The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings against New York on Wednesday. Porcello held the hard-hitting Yankees to four hits and finally resembled the pitcher who won 17 games as a rookie last season.
It will be interesting to see if Porcello can build off his strong outing or slips back to the struggling pitcher he had been in his first six starts. During his struggles, he allowed 46 hits in 30 innings and batters were pounding him at a .354 clip. He lost three of his last four starts before beating the Yankees.
All three of Porcello's wins have come at home. He has also defeated the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Comerica Park.
It appears - at least for the time being - the reports that Freddy Garcia was nearing the end of his big league career were premature. When he was skipped a turn in the rotation early in the season, it looked like it was only a matter of time before he was sent on his way and mega-prospect Dan Hudson would be called up.
While Hudson is still in the minors, Garcia has been steady in his last four starts. He has pitched seven innings twice and six in the two other starts.
Although Garcia has allowed 36 hits in 28 innings, he has shown his veteran savvy by giving up only 10 runs. Garcia has won his last two starts and is coming off a strong performance against Minnesota when he held the Twins to two runs in seven innings.
Garcia has had plenty of success against the Tigers. He's 16-6 with a 3.76 ERA in his career and is 7-3 at Comerica Park.