Tigers complete doubleheader sweep of White Sox

While Mark Buehrle's jersey and Dewayne Wise's glove started a deserved journey toward Cooperstown, the White Sox suffered a Hall of Fame-worthy letdown at Detroit.

Mixing a blend of untimely hitting, unfortunate baserunning and untidy fielding, the Sox dropped a day-night doubleheader on Friday with first place on the line at Comerica Park.

Tigers ace Justin Verlander fired a complete game to earn a 5-1 verdict in Game 1, then Sox reliever Matt Thornton issued a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Clete Thomas in the eighth inning to give Detroit a 4-3 win in Game 2.

And to think, Ozzie Guillen's bunch entered the day with all the momentum in the world thanks to Buehrle's perfect game that allowed the Sox to wake up with a share of the AL Central lead for the first time since May 2.

"Buehrle really doesn't mean anything if he's not pitching the next day," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko said. "Momentum matters the least in our sport."

Instead, Detroit (51-44) holds a 2-game lead over the Sox (50-47) halfway through this crucial series.

"We missed opportunities, once again, in the second game," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We got chances to score and we didn't."

The Sox swung the bats with little authority and sense of timeliness throughout the day.

Gordon Beckham drove in the Sox' Game 1 run - an unearned one at that - with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly. That was all the Sox reaped from having runners on second and third with nobody out.

The Sox also somehow failed to score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth. Beckham's comebacker led to a 1-2-3 double play that short-circuited the rally.

"He's got a gift," Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said of Verlander. "When they loaded the bases, he just reared back and started hitting 100 on the gun. He's got unbelievable stuff."

Said Guillen: "Verlander was just dominating."

In Game 2, Jim Thome bludgeoned a solo homer in the second inning, and Jermaine Dye crushed a 2-run shot in the third to lift the Sox to a 3-1 lead.

The Tigers rallied to forge a 3-3 tie in the fifth, but the Sox couldn't re-take the lead in the seventh after chasing spot starter Eddie Bonine.

Chris Getz led off with a single, Beckham walked and Wise pushed them up with a difficult sacrifice bunt, but Ramon Castro and Scott Podsednik struck out to end the threat.

The irritated Podsednik expressed the Sox' collective frustration by firing his bat and helmet toward the backstop. They never managed another runner.

For the day, the White Sox were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They also had two runners caught stealing in Game 2, one of which short-circuited a second-inning uprising.

The Tigers weren't much better in the clutch according to the numbers (4-for-16), but Placido Polanco drove in Game 2's tying run with a fielder's choice, and Thomas forced in the winning run with his walk in the eighth.

Polanco set up Detroit's winning run with a one-out single off Sox loser Scott Linebrink (2-5). Magglio Ordonez fought back from an 0-2 count to rip a double down the third-base line that ticked off Beckham's glove.

Linebrink departed after walking Miguel Cabrera intentionally to load the bases.

Thornton entered and struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn for the second out, but his full-count fastball to Thomas was well above the strike zone and forced in Polanco with the game-winner.

Among the other issues? The Sox committed 3 errors in the final two innings of Game 1 (costing 1 unearned run) and the bullpen continued its recent shaky outings.

On the plus side, Bartolo Colon delivered a solid performance in his first big-league game since June 7.

Working Game 2 with the same assortment of fastballs and changeups he utilized in the season's first two months, Colon surrendered 6 hits and 3 runs over 7 innings.