Jackson settles down after rough start

Edwin Jackson wasn’t pretty Saturday night, but give the White Sox’ starting pitcher credit for making sure the game against the Tigers didn’t get ugly.

Jackson threw 40 pitches in the first inning while serving up a 2-run homer to Brennan Boesch.

The right-hander was at 60 pitches after the second inning and 96 after the fourth.

But when he finally exited after throwing a whopping 124 pitches in 6 innings, Jackson only allowed the 2 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks.

“I looked up and I had 60 pitches through two innings so I knew from then on it was just going to be a battle,” Jackson said. “You’re always looking at the pitches, we’re on pitch counts, so most pitchers are aware of the amount of pitches they have and the only thing you can do is keep going out there and fighting.

“I did that tonight to just try to keep the game close, but like I said hats off to the defense, we had a lot of great defensive plays out there tonight.”

Life of Lillibridge:

Brent Lillibridge continued to get regular playing time Saturday, starting in right field with Carlos Quentin moving to designated hitter.

Quickly becoming a fan favorite, Lillibridge got the big U.S. Cellular Field crowd of 31,037 buzzing in the second inning with a highlight catch on Miguel Cabrera’s foul flyball.

In the fifth, Lillibridge showed his great speed by singling off Justin Verlander’s glove and then racing to third base on the Tigers starter’s wild throw to first.

“Lillie has got big hits for us,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Every time he comes to the plate and the game’s on the line he does some damage to get the lead or get close. I’ve been very impressed because we never expected that from him, especially offensively.

“Defensively, I don’t think there’s any doubts he’s the best outfielder we have. He shows how dumb I am, we got this guy for three years playing the infield, all of the sudden he’s a better outfielder than infielder.”

Konerko sits:

Paul Konerko (left wrist) missed his second straight game Saturday, and he’s doubtful for Sunday as well.

“Today he was a little sore, I don’t expect him to play tomorrow,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “If he comes out and says he’s ready to play, that’s a plus. I think that’s not fair for him because tomorrow’s a day game, you don’t have as much time to get ready.”

Around the horn:

Jesse Crain, who took the loss after allowing Miguel Cabrera’s 2-run homer in the ninth inning on a 1-2 hanging slider, wasn’t even supposed to be at the game. He missed Friday’s game due to family reasons and showed up at U.S. Cellular Field two hours before Saturday’s game ... The Sox have lost 10 of their last 11 to the Tigers dating back to last season ... Brent Lillibridge (seven games), Carlos Quentin (six) and Brent Morel (six) all extended their hitting streaks.