GDT: 9/25/09 - DET (82-70) AT CWS (73-80) - 8:11 p.m. ET

CLEVELAND -- The last time Eddie Bonine faced the White Sox, he finished a doubleheader sweep in July that put the Tigers ahead of Chicago to stay. Now that the White Sox are eliminated from contention, they still could use a gem from Bonine again.

After the front line of Detroit's rotation led a series sweep of the Indians, the Tigers now face the challenge of beating the Sox with their back end, so to speak. Bonine and Nate Robertson, two Tigers who weren't in the rotation a month ago but came in as injury replacements, now play critical roles in Detroit's playoff hopes.

Bonine and Robertson are scheduled to start the final two games of next week's critical four-game set against the second-place Twins. Before that, however, they have a meeting with the White Sox that will go a long way toward shaping the outlook of that series.

Neither Justin Verlander nor Rick Porcello will pitch in this series, and Edwin Jackson won't pitch until the finale on Sunday. It's up to Bonine and Robertson to try to set the tone for the weekend.

But then, considering the Tigers have won both of Bonine's starts for them this year, that isn't new. And considering Robertson's five clutch innings last Sunday at Minnesota, he has a lot to do with the Tigers' current momentum.

Two months ago, almost to the day, the White Sox came to Comerica Park having drawn even with Detroit in the American League Central for a four-game, three-day series. Once Verlander pitched a complete-game victory in the opener of the day-night doubleheader, it was up to Bonine to keep the White Sox from salvaging a split.

Bonine gave up two home runs in the first three innings to fall behind, but quieted Chicago's offense the rest of the way. Eventually, the Tigers battled back to pull out the win and move two games up in the division. The Tigers have been alone atop the AL Central ever since.

Bonine didn't get a decision in the outing, just as he didn't from his five innings against the Royals on Sept. 16. With a sudden starting role in a pennant race, though, his record isn't his main concern. He just wants to help get his team to the postseason.

"He's hungry," manager Jim Leyland said. "He's going to do whatever you ask. He's started all the time in [Triple-A] Toledo, so that's not foreign to him. He's a hungry player. He's been great. He's really a wonderful kid, and you pull for him."

If Bonine can use his combination of fastballs, sliders and knuckleballs to keep the ball on the ground, it won't be difficult for Detroit's defense to get behind him. If he can string together scoreless innings that way, he'll give the Tigers a chance against former National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy.

The Tigers have never faced Peavy, and given his recent return from injury, they don't know entirely what to expect. But they come to town with their offense on a roll.

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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Eddie Bonine (0-0, 5.96 ERA)
The Tigers used Monday's off-day to skip Bonine's spot in the rotation, but he has two critical starts left to try to help pitch the Tigers to a division title. The first outing comes against the White Sox, whom Bonine quieted with a six-inning quality start in a spot assignment in July. Bonine earned a September callup with the Tigers as an extra reliever, but became a starter when injuries to Robertson and Armando Galarraga forced Leyland to adjust.


CWS: RHP Jake Peavy (7-6, 4.05 ERA)
The high-profile acquisition at the non-waiver Trade Deadline certainly wasn't perfect, location-wise, in his first start since June 8 when he was facing Arizona with San Diego. But Peavy had good life on his fastball, topping out at 94 mph, and his slider had good bite during his first American League victory in his first AL start. Peavy worked five innings, throwing 47 of his 73 pitches for strikes, while giving up three runs on three hits and striking out five. He would have gone out for the sixth, but the White Sox rallied for four in the fifth and the length of the inning caused Ozzie Guillen to replace Peavy. The right-hander will have one more start after this one on Wednesday at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

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Tidbits

...The Tigers will be without at least two relievers on Friday. While Galarraga remains hampered by his right elbow, left-hander Bobby Seay was expected to be examined on Friday to determine the source of his discomfort during his outing Thursday at Cleveland. Seay couldn't be specific, only to say it was around the front of his left shoulder.
... Look for Carlos Guillen to start in potentially all three games this series with right-handers on the mound. He went 6-for-9 with two homers, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs against the Indians.
... The Tigers have committed only one error over their past 21 games since Sept. 2

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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Saturday: Tigers (Nate Robertson, 2-2, 5.13 ERA) at White Sox (Freddy Garcia, 2-3, 4.01 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 13-7, 3.25 ERA) at White Sox (Daniel Hudson, 0-1, 3.38 ERA), 2:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 14-9, 4.14 ERA) vs. Twins (Nick Blackburn, 11-11, 4.18 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

TIGERS

1. Granderson, CF
   
2. Polanco, 2B
   
3. Thomas, RF
   
4. Cabrera, 1B
   
5. Huff, DH
   
6. Guillen, LF
   
7. Inge, 3B
   
8. Laird, C
   
9. Santiago, SS
   

P: Eddie Bonine

WHITE SOX

1. Scott Podsednik, LF
   
2. Gordon Beckham, 3B
   
3. A.J. Pierzynski, C
   
4. Paul Konerko, 1B
   
5. Alexei Ramirez, SS
   
6. Jermaine Dye, RF
   
7. Carlos Quentin, DH
   
8. Chris Getz, 2B
   
9. Alex Rios, CF
   

P: Jake Peavy

Inning 1
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson flies out to right fielder Jermaine Dye.

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Placido Polanco singles on a line drive to left fielder Scott Podsednik.

B:0 S:0 O:3 - Magglio Ordonez grounds into double
play, second baseman Chris Getz to shortstop Alexei Ramirez to first
baseman Paul Konerko. Placido Polanco out at 2nd.

0-0 after .5 inning

Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Scott Podsednik grounds out, first baseman Miguel Cabrera to pitcher Eddie Bonine.

B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Gordon Beckham walks.

B:1 S:0 O:3 - A. J. Pierzynski grounds into double
play, second baseman Placido Polanco to shortstop Ramon Santiago to
first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Gordon Beckham out at 2nd.

0-0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Miguel Cabrera walks.

B:1 S:1 O:1 - Aubrey Huff grounds into a force out,
first baseman Paul Konerko to shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Miguel Cabrera
out at 2nd. Aubrey Huff to 1st.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen singles on a fly ball to left fielder Scott Podsednik. Aubrey Huff to 2nd.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge swinging.

B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Alex Avila called out on .

0-0 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Paul Konerko swinging.

B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Alexei Ramirez swinging.

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Jermaine Dye called out on .

0-0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:0 S:1 O:0 -
Ramon Santiago singles on a bunt ground ball to first baseman Paul Konerko.

B:2 S:1 O:1 - Curtis Granderson grounds into a force
out, first baseman Paul Konerko to shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Ramon
Santiago out at 2nd. Curtis Granderson to 1st.

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Placido Polanco singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Gordon Beckham. Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

B:0 S:1 O:3 - Magglio Ordonez grounds into double
play, pitcher Jake Peavy to shortstop Alexei Ramirez to first baseman
Paul Konerko. Placido Polanco out at 2nd.

0-0 after 2.5 innings

Bonine K'ing the side?! NICE!

Bottom Half

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Carlos Quentin flies out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Chris Getz grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Alex Rios walks.

B:0 S:2 O:3 -
With Scott Podsednik batting, Alex Rios caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Alex Avila to shortstop Ramon Santiago.

0-0 after 3 innings

gdennis59 wrote:

Bonine K'ing the side?! NICE!

cool, huh!

hi Garrett

Whoo Avila!

Good game so far for the Tigers, we need some bats though.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

gdennis59 wrote:

Bonine K'ing the side?! NICE!

cool, huh!

hi Garrett

How ya been?

Doing ok. I just want to see some run support for Mr. Bonine!

Inning 4
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to first baseman Paul Konerko in foul territory.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Aubrey Huff grounds out to first baseman Paul Konerko.

B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Carlos Guillen swinging.

0-0 after 3.5 innings

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Doing ok. I just want to see some run support for Mr. Bonine!

Truth.

Just got back from the cages. Had to tweak my swing a bit. My hands are sore now. Game like two hours away tomorrow. At least that's how everyone else sees it. They're taking the highway. I'm just taking a main road all the way down

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Scott Podsednik grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Gordon Beckham grounds out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
A. J. Pierzynski flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

0-0 after 4 innings

gdennis59 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Doing ok. I just want to see some run support for Mr. Bonine!

Truth.

Just got back from the cages. Had to tweak my swing a bit. My hands are sore now. Game like two hours away tomorrow. At least that's how everyone else sees it. They're taking the highway. I'm just taking a main road all the way down

Good luck tomorrow, hit me a home run!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

gdennis59 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Doing ok. I just want to see some run support for Mr. Bonine!

Truth.

Just got back from the cages. Had to tweak my swing a bit. My hands are sore now. Game like two hours away tomorrow. At least that's how everyone else sees it. They're taking the highway. I'm just taking a main road all the way down

Good luck tomorrow, hit me a home run!

HA! I don't get any power out of my swing. That's what I was trying to tweak, my average is good, but it's all singles.

Polly like singles add up just the same as power home runs

Inning 5
Top Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Brandon Inge swinging.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Alex Avila flies out to left fielder Scott Podsednik.

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago swinging.

0-0 after 4.5 innings

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Polly like singles add up just the same as power home runs

Yeah, but just that XBH here and there is always good.

Damn, we need some sticks.

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Paul Konerko flies out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Alexei Ramirez grounds out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Jermaine Dye walks.

B:1 S:0 O:3 - Carlos Quentin grounds into a force out,
shortstop Ramon Santiago to second baseman Placido Polanco. Jermaine
Dye out at 2nd.

0-0 after 5 innings

Good pitching and D by the Tigers.

Just need some bats!

Inning 6
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson pops out to shortstop Alexei Ramirez.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco singles on a ground ball to second baseman Chris Getz.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a soft line drive to left fielder Scott Podsednik. Placido Polanco to 2nd.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera on foul tip.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Aubrey Huff grounds into a force out, second baseman Chris Getz to shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Magglio Ordonez out at 2nd.

0-0 after 5.5 innings

RISP one out, MEAT OF OUR ORDER, and we still can't score. I'm getting more than aggravated.

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Chris Getz pops out to shortstop Ramon Santiago.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Alex Rios reaches on fielding error by third baseman Brandon Inge.

B:0 S:0 O:2 - Scott Podsednik grounds out, pitcher
Eddie Bonine to second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel
Cabrera. Alex Rios to 2nd.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Gordon Beckham homers (14) on a fly ball to left field. Alex Rios scores.
CWS 2, DET 0

Inge's error comes back to bite the Tigers


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
A. J. Pierzynski flies out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

CWS 2, DET 0 after 6 innings

Inge's bat better make up for the error.

Inning 7
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen called out on .

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge called out on .

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Alex Avila walks.

B:0 S:2 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago grounds out, second baseman Chris Getz to first baseman Paul Konerko.

CWS 2, DET 0 after 6.5 innings

GRRR! SCORE SOME RUNS NEXT TIME, TIGERS!