John Danks went seven innings for the fourth time in fifth starts -- that's good!
He did it while allowing six runs -- that's bad!
Danks' ugly line was efficient because he's still having problems keeping the ball in the park. Prince Fielder punched him in the mouth with a three-run homer in the first inning, and Austin Jackson (second inning) and Torii Hunter (fifth inning) added solo shots of their own.
The Tigers added their sixth on the sixth with three consecutive two-out singles, but they already had all the runs they needed, because the White Sox needed to scramble yet again in order to avoid a shutout.
Anibal Sanchez tied them up for the first six innings. He basically had to sidestep Alejandro De Aza's best efforts, and he was home free.
In the first, De Aza singled, stole second, advanced to third on the throw, and stayed put as a lineout, strikeout and strikeout preserved the Tigers' 3-0 lead. In the fifth, De Aza doubled Josh Phegley to third with one out, but neither advanced any further. Alexei Ramirez grounded to second and Alex Rios flied out to center to kill the threat.
Sanchez completed six shutout innings, and Jim Leyland mercifully gave the Sox three cracks against the Detroit bullpen. They capitalized twice -- Ramirez dropped an RBI single to left off Bruce Rondon in the seventh, and Dayan Viciedo took Luke Putkonen to opposite field for his ninth homer of the season -- but they were still four short, resulting in the second flat 6-2 loss in as many nights.
Bullet points:
- De Aza went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.
- Viciedo also had three hits, and four of his nine homers have come against the Tigers.
- Ramirez committed his 17th error, although a good first baseman would've saved him. He was unsuccessful in getting the throw to first in time to prevent a Hernan Perez infield single, but Adam Dunn didn't get the mitt down in time, and the throw hit the dirt behind it.
Record: 39-59 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights