By Andy Rohr
Staff Writer
After their thrilling 10-8 win over the Rangers on Wednesday, the White Sox will head off for a 10-game road trip against the rest of the AL Central.
Wednesday's victory was huge for a variety of reasons. The Sox won despite commiting four errors, avoided a losing homestand, showed once again that they can battle back, got Carlos Quentin back to being the sport-dominator that he often was in the first half and went up by 2 1/2 games on the Twins.
The jury is probably still out on rookie lefty Clayton Richard who endured three errors (and a variety of other mental hiccups) behind him, while allowing seven hits and four earned runs in four innings. There were things to like about the southpaw - he struck out seven while only allowing one walk and he worked quickly. The two-out rallies that plated four Rangers' runs against him were certainly troubling but it was his first Major League start. Here's hoping he sticks in the rotation for another shot in the Metrodome on Tuesday.
But before the Sox get there, they'll be meeting up with the Tigers, who trail them by 5 1/2 games in the standings.
We all remember what happened the last time the Sox made a trip to Comerica Park, kickstarting Detroit's surge back to and above .500.
The pitching matchups are as follows Gavin Floyd (10-6, 3.52) vs. Nate Robertson (6-8, 5.69) on Friday, John Danks (7-4, 3.03) vs. Justin Verlander (8-9, 3.95) on Saturday and Javier Vazquez (7-8, 4.57) vs. Zach Miner (4-3, 3.73) on Sunday. Sox fans can breathe a sigh of relief because they won't be taking on the Gambler, whose earned quite the reputation as a Sox killer.
Floyd's last start against the Tigers was his no-hit bid back on April 12. Danks has yet to face Detroit on the season and will be looking to rebound after his poor start against the Royals earlier this week. Vazquez's previous start against the Tigers yielded poor returns.
Verlander was on the other end of that Tigers' win, tossing a complete-game four-hitter. Robertson made a quality start against the Sox in Game 1 of that series, but has struggled in his last two starts, allowing 12 earned runs in just 9 1/3 innings. Miner has only made one start so far this season but threw two scoreless innings of relief against the Sox back in April.
The weekend series will not only give the Sox a chance to put a little more space in between them and the Tigers in the standings, but also an opportunity to get off to a good start on this important trip.
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