Sox drop Tigers' finale 6-4, settle for series win
DETROIT - A sweep would have been nice, but winning the series will suffice.
That's the way the White Sox viewed the situation after losing to the Tigers 6-4 Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park.
"I will take two out of three for the rest of the season," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Should they manage to pull off the feat, and maybe take three of four against the Twins in another big series that opens tonight the Metrodome, the White Sox are going back to the playoffs.
"This is a huge road trip for us," Nick Swisher said. "We would have loved to come away with more today, but we'll just pack it up here, get some good rest tonight, and get ready for Minnesota."
The White Sox beat Detroit 6-5 on Friday night after Jermaine Dye came through with a 2-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning.
The Sox beat the Tigers again Saturday 7-6 thanks in large part to reliever Octavio Dotel retiring three straight after Magglio Ordonez led off the eighth inning with a double.
On Sunday, the White Sox fell behind 6-2 in the sixth inning as Javier Vazquez delivered another uneven start, but there still was a positive feeling in the dugout.
The Sox did make it interesting in the eighth when Jim Thome's 2-run single with two outs made it 6-4, but the slumping Paul Konerko couldn't follow with another clutch hit.
In the ninth, Detroit's Fernando Rodney, who apparently has replaced Todd Jones in the closer's role, retired the White Sox in order despite going 3-2 on Nick Swisher, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe.
"I feel proud because we came here to fight, and we did," Guillen said. "We came here to defend our stuff, and we did it pretty good. We made it interesting, and that's all you can ask for as a coaching staff."
Vazquez took the loss after pitching 7 innings and allowing 6 runs on 11 hits.
"Javy threw good," Guillen said. "He made a few mistakes against the wrong team. The last two games, I feel a little better about how he's thrown the ball. We need him. We need him to get going and help us get this thing done."
Vazquez hasn't won since June 17, a span of 6 starts.
"I feel good," Vazquez said. "But it's frustrating right now because it's a pitch here, a pitch there that's costing me. Other than that I feel like I'm throwing the ball good."
Konerko did get a single in the fourth inning, but he continued to struggle in clutch situations.
"I have (other) choices," Guillen said when asked abut Konerko's status. "But I'm not going to give up on him that easy. A lot of people have opinions, but Paulie is a big part of this team. I might move him down the lineup more so maybe he'll relax a little bit."
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