Precisely what Sox needed

After enduring a 5-hour marathon against the Tigers in the series opener, the White Sox headed into Wednesday's game with two goals.

First, get another win and maintain their 1-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central. Second, get more than 4-5 innings from starting pitcher John Danks.

Mission accomplished, on both counts.

Jim Thome's 3-run homer in the first inning staked the Sox to an early lead, and Danks made it hold up while working 6 innings in a 5-1 win over Detroit.

"Obviously, after (Tuesday) night's game and what happened in Kansas City, we needed (Danks) to step up," said Joey Cora, who managed the White Sox for the second - and final - game while Ozzie Guillen finished up his suspension.

"He was unbelievable," Cora continued. "Facing all of those right-handed hitters, he was amazing."

Well aware the Sox used all seven relief pitchers in Tuesday's 14-inning win over the Tigers, Danks didn't need any marching orders.

"My goal was to get us deep into the game," Danks said. "I knew the guys down there were going to be achy, but my goal was to get us into the seventh or eighth, hopefully with the lead."

Thanks to Thome's home run off Detroit starter Justin Verlander in the first inning, Danks was able to settle in and go to work. The left-hander allowed 1 run on 4 hits before giving way to D.J. Carrasco with two outs in the seventh inning.

"I didn't throw one curveball," Danks said. "In the bullpen, I don't think I even had one break. I think I threw one for a strike between innings. The changeup was good, fastball was good, it had command with a little giddy-up on it, and the cutter bailed me out of big situations."

So did Juan Uribe.

Making his fifth straight start at third base, Uribe was 0-for-3 as his batting average dropped to .215.

But the converted shortstop assisted on all 3 putouts in the first inning and finished with 7 for the game.

"It's a little different, but if you can play shortstop, you can play second base and third base," Uribe said. "Third base moves faster, but I just like to play. When you don't hit, try to do something for the team."

The Sox got plenty of early offense from Thome, and Alexei Ramirez's 2-run single in the eighth inning all but eliminated the threat of an extra-inning repeat.

"We think we've got enough offense from the first eight to carry us,'' Cora said. "We need somebody to catch the ball, and Uribe's been doing a great job. He's been playing a (heck) of a third base."

The White Sox assured themselves of winning the series with Wednesday's win over the fading Tigers.

"I have a different take," Cora said. "I see it as winning games. Win games and keep it going. We need to win as many games as we can because the Twins aren't going away and you never know about (Detroit)."

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