Sox head to Detroit for huge 3-game series
Even after losing another game at Baltimore on Thursday, the White Sox deserve a lot of credit for playing five solid months of baseball.
But if they stumble and fall in September, all of the fond memories are going to quickly fade.
While losing three of four to the Orioles at Camden Yards, the Sox looked tired. They looked beat up, which is common at this time of the year. And where is all the power they’ve been showing back home on the South Side?
If they are preparing to make a strong finishing kick, they’d be wise to flick on the switch this weekend against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
A sweep over second-place Detroit would be ideal, but captain Paul Konerko provided his usual perspective before the White Sox headed out of Baltimore.
“There’s nothing that will be won or lost this weekend,” Konerko told MLB.com. “Hopefully we go there and play well and the results are good. That’s all you can hope for, just to play your game.
“This team has been pretty resilient all year, through the ups and downs, and it’s a long way to go. These last 30 days, there’s going to be momentum shifts back and forth, good and bad, and you just have to try to stay the course as best you can.”
Last season, the Sox were running second in the AL Central and trailed the first-place Tigers by 5½ games heading into a three-game weekend series at Comerica Park that opened on Sept. 2.
Detroit swept the White Sox while outscoring them 35-11.
The Tigers wound up going 20-6 in September and they won the division by 15 games over the second-place Indians. The Sox went 11-17 over the final month and finished third, 16 games off the pace.
While this is a huge series, the White Sox host the Tigers for four games on their next homestand.
If they can shake off their poor showing in Baltimore, they have a good shot at exacting some revenge on the Tigers.
“We’ve got to have a good weekend,” second baseman Gordon Beckham told MLB.com. “We’ve been on the other side of the coin where we had to win series against a first-place team to get back in the hunt, and it’s not easy. Every game lost to a team that’s in the lead can be frustrating, so if we can go in there and just win one, to be honest, it’s a victory for us.”
Winning two or three would be even better, but like Konerko, Beckham knows nothing is going to be decided in the AL Central this weekend.
“Obviously, it’s a big series, but we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves,” Beckham said. “We’re doing fine. There’s no need to make it bigger than it is. We’ve got seven games left with them, and you want to win at least three or four of those games.”
The highlight of the series comes Sunday night, when Sox ace Chris Sale squares off against Justin Verlander, the Tigers’ top starter and defending AL Cy Young Award winner.
Sale was hit hard in his last start, Tuesday against the Orioles, while Verlander also fared poorly Tuesday against the Royals.
sgregor@dailyherald.com