Rapid Reactions: Tigers Bounce Back To Top White Sox

Tigers 4, White Sox 2 (box)

• Justin Verlander has been a beast on the mound more often than not this year, and tonight was another one of those nights. Other than a two-run home run in the fifth inning, he didn’t have any trouble until the eighth. A single, sacrifice, and another single put runners on the corners with one out. JV struck out Carlos Quentin and then snagged a well hit at ’em ball off the bat of A.J. Pierzynski to get out of the inning. He’s pitched into the eighth inning in five of his last six starts.
• I’m surprised that Ozzie Guillen allowed Miguel Cabrera to swing the bat in the top of the ninth with two outs and first base open. He’s usually one to issue the free pass, but he didn’t in this case, and Cabby made him pay. He bombed a two-run homer to the opposite field to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead that would stick.
• The first two runs were scored off of a Brennan Boesch home run in the first inning. He hasn’t been hitting all that well of late, but he has four hits in ten plate appearances in this series (plus a walk).
• Cleveland lost, so the Tigers pull to 3.5 games back in the Central Division. Detroit trails Boston by 1.5 games in the Wild Card standings.

Like what you see here and want to stay informed on the happenings at MCB? Make sure to follow me on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed.