Torres struggles early in Game 2 after Buehrle, offense roll in Game 1

DETROIT - When there still was a chance that newly acquired starting pitcher Edwin Jackson was going to be flipped to the Washington Nationals for Adam Dunn last weekend, general manager Kenny Williams said Carlos Torres was capable of stepping up and filling the final slot in the White Sox' starting rotation.

The Sox wound up keeping Jackson, and he makes his debut against the Tigers Wednesday night.

As for Torres, let's just say it's a good thing the White Sox still have Jackson.

Making a spot start in Game 2 of a day-night doubleheader against Detroit on Tuesday night at Comerica Park, Torres did deliver 4 scoreless innings.

Unfortunately, they were the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. In the first two innings, Torres was roughed up for 5 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks as the Tigers raced out to a 5-0 lead.

While Torres recovered, the Sox did not, and Detroit won 7-1 to salvage a split.

In Game 1, starter Mark Buehrle made it look pretty easy while pitching the White Sox to a 12-2 win.

After the nightcap, Torres was optioned back to Class AAA Charlotte.

"The first inning, he looked like a minor-league pitcher," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "After that he threw the ball good and gave us what we needed him to give us.

"The expectation? Well, right now everybody is stepping up for us on the mound, so for us the expectation is to win games.

"The worst scenario was in the first two innings. I looked up there and he's got 60-something pitches. I was kind of worried because I didn't want to bring in the bullpen and have them carry us the rest of the game."

Acknowledging he was nervous early, Torres settled down after the rocky beginning and started throwing a pitch he hardly used last season, when he appeared in eight games with the White Sox - the changeup.

"In the second inning it was more of not going soft soon enough," Torres said. "I threw some quality pitches, but again there were some that were not.

"(I was nervous), probably quite a bit of it, but no matter how you look at it, it shouldn't have happened because we're professionals; this is what we do. That shouldn't happen."

The Sox obviously were shooting for the sweep, especially after pounding Tigers starter Rick Porcello in Game 1.

Still, they managed to pick up a half-game in the standings after the second-place Twins lost their second game in a row at Tampa Bay.

"It's good enough," Guillen said of the split. "Right now all of our players just have to worry about winning games. They don't have to worry about anything else.

"That's an easy weight to carry. That's the easy part of first place. You don't have to look at the scoreboard and say, 'Wow, they're losing, let's go win to pick up some ground.' "

The White Sox easily won Game 1, getting 15 hits off Porcello and two Detroit relievers. Alexei Ramirez went 4-for-5 and Juan Pierre, Alex Rios and Dayan Viciedo all hit home runs.

"It was a good first game, not a lot of drama," said Paul Konerko, who provided the only offense in Game 2 with a solo home run. "We came out and got the lead and (Buehrle) took it from there.

"Other than that, we're not trying to think too much about how we've been playing the last month-and-a-half. It really doesn't matter. We're pretty much in a dead heat with Minnesota, so we're just trying to grind along."

Pierre's first home run in 809 at-bats was the highlight of the opener.

"You go to Las Vegas and bet, you never thought Juan would hit a home run in Detroit," Guillen said. "This is one of the hardest ballparks to hit a home run. He's swinging the bat pretty good."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">White Sox 12-1, Tigers 2-7</p>

<p class="News"><b>Early stars:</b> In Game 1, Juan Pierre hit his first home run since Sept. 15, 2008, a span of 809 at-bats. Starter Mark Buehrle won his 10th game, the 10th season in a row he's reached double digits.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Late goats:</b> In Game 2, Carlos Torres got off to a rough start and took the loss after allowing 5 runs on 9 hits and 5 walks in 6 innings. Mark Kotsay was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .214.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Late star:</b> Omar Vizquel was 3-for-3 in Game 2. In his last 18 games, he's batting .434 (23-for-53).</p>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=398387">Pierre's power drought ends<span class="date"> [8/3/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=398300">Despite team's rebuttal, Guillen stands by his view <span class="date"> [8/3/10]</span></a></li>

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