GDT: 7/17/11 - DET (49-45) VS CWS (46-48) - 1:05 p.m. ET ---
VS ---
Detroit Tigers VS Chicago White SoxSunday, July 17, 2011
Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
Game Time - 1:05 p.m. EDT REMEMBERING SPARKYThe Tigers are wearing a patch on their right
sleeves this season in the shape of a home
plate emblazoned with the name SPARKY, to
honor Hall of Fame manager Sparky
Anderson who passed away on November 4, 2010.
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Preview White Sox trying to keep the pressure turned upBy John Schlegel / MLB.com | 7/16/2011 8:00 PM ET
The White Sox continue to put pressure on the team in front of them in the American League Central race, and now they have a three-game sweep of the Tigers in their reach.
In Sunday's finale at Comerica Park, they'll put the ball in the hands of Philip Humber, who has been strong in his first season as a full-time starter in the big leagues. He'll be matched with veteran right-hander Brad Penny, who will be making his 19th start of the season for the Tigers.
For Humber, the 107 1/3 innings he has pitched this season in 16 starts and two relief stints thus far make for uncharted waters. But it's been smooth sailing to this point.
Like with any of the starters under his charge, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper wants to see the 29-year-old finish strong, in individual games and for the season.
"I always look for our starters to give us a chance to win the games, going out for the bulk of the game," Cooper said of Humber, who has eight quality starts in his last 10. "Nothing changes in the second half. Phil had a good first half. That's great.
"Now, people remember the guys who finish. It's great that the guy had a first half, but now we have the next challenge, which is the second half and the remaining starts for him as well as everybody else."
This particular start means a lot for the White Sox in the early going of the AL Central stretch run. Saturday's victory moved Chicago within three games of the second-place Tigers, still chasing the first-place Indians.
Tigers All-Star first baseman Miguel Cabrera certainly understands the importance of games within the AL Central.
"We've got a lot of games in the division, so if you're going to win our division, you've got to beat our division," Cabrera said earlier this weekend.
One positive for the Tigers from Saturday's 5-0 blanking was the return of veteran infielder Carlos Guillen, whose name was written on manager Jim Leyland's lineup card for the first time since last August.
He went 1-for-4 in his return, and Leyland said he plans to use him as the everyday second baseman for now while keeping an eye on how much he can use him. Guillen played 11 games in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo before his return, and said on Saturday he feels like he's ready for whatever comes his way.
"[I wanted to] make sure I'm 100 percent," Guillen said. "I had like 10 months where I haven't played every day. You need to get some at-bats, feel comfortable at the plate, feel comfortable in the field."
White Sox: Teahen getting traction at thirdMark Teahen has made two straight starts at third, replacing Brent Morel, and manager Ozzie Guillen made it sound like he could be in line for another start on Sunday against Penny. Teahen went 1-for-3 on Saturday.
"Well, I don't want to change the lineup. I think the lineup was good. ... We're going to face KC next and there will be a couple of lefties out there and I will get him maybe a couple of games and hopefully, he will keep swinging the bat like that. But it's not to take Morel out of there. I just like the way he swung the bat [on Friday] and the way the team played," Guillen said of Teahen, who is 1-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts in his career against Penny.
Tigers: Jackson's wrist still bothersomeCenter fielder Austin Jackson was again out of the lineup on Saturday after being a late scratch for Friday's game with inflammation in his left wrist that has bothered him for a while.
The Tigers would like to give him whatever rest he needs in order to avoid a trip to the disabled list, but the balancing act is that the more he swings the bat the more the injury seems to be aggravated.
"It's one of those things where I have to get out there and see how it feels each and every day," Jackson said. "I've been giving it a little break, to definitely heal it. ... I guess we'll just keep going each and every day and see how it feels. Hopefully get me back in there."
Said Leyland: "Is [the DL] a possibility? I guess at some point you've got to pull the trigger on something one way or another."
Worth noting• Before the White Sox won the first two games of this series, the Tigers had won 13 of the previous 15 meetings between the clubs.
• After a day off on Monday, the Tigers will host the A's for a three-game set starting on Tuesday.
• The White Sox will continue their road trip against AL Central foes on Monday, when they begin a three-game set against the Royals in Kansas City.
Tigers: RHP Brad Penny (6-6, 4.50 ERA)Penny pitched 6 1/3 innings against the Angels in his last start, allowing four runs and getting the victory. He sits at 6-6 with a 4.50 ERA this season.
White Sox: RHP Philip Humber (8-5, 3.10 ERA)Humber was the surprise of the first half, solidifying his spot in the White Sox six-man rotation, but he will be coming off his worst start of the season when he allowed career highs in runs (six) and hits (11).
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Tiger's MLB Game Notes
Game InformationRESCHEDULED GAMES: The following is the information on the rescheduled Tigers games postponed at Comerica Park this season:
-
Thursday, September 1 versus Kansas City at 1:05 p.m. (rescheduled from May 15)
INJURY UPDATE: •
RHP Joel Zumaya (right elbow olecranon fracture surgery,
60-day disabled list on March 30).
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To track MLB play-by-play, to help post GDT outcomes: http://m.mlb.com/scores/On the Internet MLB.TV Gameday Audio•
Gameday•
Official Press Pass game notesOn television •
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WGN•
Direct TV Extra Innings ScheduleOn radio•
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XM Channel Schedule______________________________________
Up next (Probable Pitchers) • Monday, July 18: OFF DAY
• Tuesday, July 19: Tigers (RHP
Rick Porcello (8-6, 4.78 ERA))
VS Athletics (RHP
Guillermo Moscoso (3-4, 2.16 ERA)),
7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / WXYT 97.1 FM & 1270 AM)