Chicago Vs. Detroit 7-27-11
Coming into this year, Miguel Cabrera had one of his lowest batting averages in any park at U.S. Cellular Field.
Another productive game there could help the Detroit Tigers create a bigger cushion atop the AL Central.
Cabrera and the Tigers close a successful seven-game road trip when they take on John Danks and the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
Detroit (55-48) began this trip tied with Cleveland in the standings, but the Tigers have gone 4-2 and took a two-game lead after a 5-4 win over Chicago (50-52) on Tuesday paired with an Indians loss.
Cabrera had a pair of RBI singles and newcomer Wilson Betemit drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth.
"Huge win. A lot of guys shy away from saying how big a series is at this point in the season, but I think it's a big win for us," said Justin Verlander, who picked up his 14th win.
"(The White Sox) had the momentum coming into today. ... To be able to come on top was uplifting for us and hopefully demoralizing for them."
The Tigers are 4 1/2 games in front of the third-place White Sox. They are 7-4 against Chicago this year, including 3-2 on the road.
Cabrera continues to lead the charge in those matchups. Despite entering this year batting a paltry .208 in 32 career games at U.S. Cellular Field, he's 8 for 19 with three homers there in 2011.
He could find it tough to keep that going against Danks (3-8, 3.92 ERA), who is 3-0 with a 0.88 ERA in his last five starts surrounding a stint on the disabled list.
After being activated last Wednesday, he pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and giving up five hits in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to Kansas City.
The left-hander is 0-2 in his last three starts against the Tigers. He allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings of a 3-0 loss to Max Scherzer on April 24.
Magglio Ordonez is 15 for 26 with four doubles and two homers against Danks, but Cabrera is just 5 for 21 without an extra-base hit.
The Tigers hope Scherzer (11-5, 4.35) can outduel Danks again.
Scherzer has also been hot, going 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA in his last three starts. He allowed one run and four hits in seven innings of an 8-2 win over Minnesota on Friday after yielding two runs in eight innings of a 5-0 loss to the White Sox on July 16.
The right-hander has allowed four runs in his last 24 innings against Chicago, striking out 24 and walking five over three starts.
Juan Pierre is 9 for 22 against Scherzer while Adam Dunn, who hit a two-run homer off Verlander Tuesday, is 3 for 11 with two home runs.
This game could be crucial for the White Sox after general manager Kenny Williams said Monday that this would be an important week in determining whether the team is a buyer or seller heading into Sunday's non-waiver trade deadline.
"We just have to go out there and play good baseball," Danks told the White Sox's official website. "If we are playing well, we'll add. If we start to lose over the next week, then who knows what will happen."
Chicago hopes Paul Konerko is heating up again. He's 3 for 6 with two homers in this series, including a solo shot in Monday's 6-3 win, bringing his average back up to .310. It had dropped to .307 on Sunday - his lowest since the end of May - after going 4 for 27 the previous seven games.
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