HUGE victory for Sox
DETROIT - In the opening game of their biggest road trip of the season, the White Sox pulled out their biggest win of the year.
"It's big,'' said right fielder Jermaine Dye, who hit a 2-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning to lift the Sox to a dramatic 6-5 win over the Tigers. "That's what's so good about this team and this clubhouse. We never give up.''
After falling behind 4-1 in the third inning, the Sox rallied to tie the game at 4-4 in the seventh. But manager Ozzie Guillen had to go with struggling relief pitcher Nick Masset in the bottom of the seventh, and Carlos Guillen put the Tigers back in front with a solo home run.
That should have sapped the Sox' momentum, but Carlos Quentin continued to thrive in the clutch, and Dye wound up delivering the knockout blow.
With Detroit closer Todd Jones on the mound in the ninth, Orlando Cabrera popped out and A.J. Pierzynski flied out to bring sold-out Comerica Park to its collective feet.
Jones got ahead of Quentin 0-2, but the White Sox' star left fielder singled to pass the torch to Dye.
Just 4-for-18 lifetime against Jones, Dye got ahead in the count 2-0 and went to work.
"If he gets behind, he doesn't want to walk guys,'' Dye said of Jones. "He fell behind 2-0 and his pitch is a cutter, a cut fastball, mainly away. I just got something out over the plate and I was ready to hit. Came up with a pretty big hit.''
The Sox now lead the second-place Twins by 3 games and the third-place Tigers by 6.
Guillen's squad looked like it was ready to roll over early, as it kicked the ball around defensively and failed to generate much offense against starter Nate Robertson while falling behind 4-1.
"At the beginning of the game, I had the feeling we still had the day off,'' Guillen said in a not-so-subtle reference to the White Sox being idle Thursday. "We couldn't get anything going and we made a few plays out there that cost us a couple runs.''
Errors by shortstop Cabrera and third baseman Josh Fields boosted Detroit but dragged down Sox starter Gavin Floyd.
With nine more games to go on a challenging trip to Detroit, Minnesota and Kansas City, the White Sox were certainly off to an inauspicious start.
But as Dye said, they don't like to quit.
"We were kind dead early and finally chipped away a little bit, scored a couple runs and got back in it,'' Dye said. "We don't quit. That says a lot about how much we go about our business every day and just come ready to play every day, no matter if we're in a losing streak or winning streak.''
Masset was in the game because Scott Linebrink had stiffness in his throwing (right) shoulder and Matt Thornton had back soreness.
Linebrink has pitched only once since July 8, and he'll have an MRI today.
"I'm certainly not where I want to be,'' said Linebrink, adding he doesn't think the pain is linked to his rotator cuff.
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