White Sox and Tigers game preview
(AP) -- Some poor overall play lately has caused the Chicago White Sox to slip further back in the AL Central race.
With Gavin Floyd looking for another strong outing against Detroit, the White Sox try to avoid a third straight loss to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.
After winning seven in a row to open a 10-game trip, Chicago (77-62) has been outscored 14-2 while losing two straight at Detroit. The second-place White Sox have totaled 10 hits and yielded seven unearned runs over the last two nights to fall 5 1/2 games behind division-leading Minnesota.
"We know that we are better than we've played," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We've got to forget about this, because (Thursday) is now a big game."
Detroit (70-70) took advantage of Mark Teahen's second error of the game to score four times in the fourth inning of Wednesday's 5-1 victory. The White Sox have committed four errors in the series.
"We're still upbeat, and we still think we've got a chance, but we've really shot ourselves in the foot over the last two days," Wednesday's loser John Danks said.
Omar Vizquel had two hits, including his second homer of the season for the White Sox. Both of Vizquel's home runs have come versus Detroit. The 43-year-old infielder is batting .367 with 10 RBIs in 14 games against the Tigers this season.
After being hit on the hand with a pitch Tuesday, Manny Ramirez went 0 for 2 Wednesday. He is 0 for 4 over the last two games.
The White Sox hope Floyd (10-11, 3.78 ERA) can further improve on his 5-0 record and 3.20 ERA in 13 starts versus Detroit.
Though the right-hander has not received a decision in his last three starts against the Tigers, he has posted a 1.31 ERA. Floyd allowed one run and struck out eight in six innings of a 7-2 loss to Detroit on June 8.
Floyd has a 2.29 ERA while winning two of his last three starts overall. He gave up a run in six innings of a 3-1 win over Boston on Saturday.
While Floyd looks to remain perfect against the Tigers, Detroit's Rick Porcello (8-11, 5.20) will again try for his first win versus Chicago.
The right-hander is 0-4 with an 8.67 ERA in five starts against the White Sox, including 0-3 with an 8.72 ERA in four this season. He is 0-3 versus Chicago at Comerica Park.
Porcello, however, is 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA after going 1-7 with a 5.91 ERA during his previous 11 starts. He allowed four runs in seven innings of a 6-4 win at Kansas City on Saturday.
Brandon Inge and Alex Avila each drove in two runs Wednesday for the Tigers, who have won five of seven. Inge is 4 for 11 with five RBIs in the series.
Detroit could be without slugger Miguel Cabrera for a second straight game after he sat out with tendinitis in his left shoulder and biceps. Cabrera ranks among the AL leaders with a .333 average, 33 home runs and 110 RBIs.
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