The Detroit Tigers won their second straight game against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday night 8-6 to move only one-game behind the AL Central division lead.
Tiger pitcher Max Scherzer added another great start to his impressive 2012 season, allowing only four hits and one run in six innings. He earned the win and set a career high for wins with 16 and added seven strikeouts to his league-leading total of 220.
"I love being in this situation. This is where I want to be," Scherzer told the Associated Press. "I want to have all the marbles on the line in a pennant race, where these games mean everything. I love having the ball in this situation."
The White Sox took an early lead off of a Kevin Youkilis solo home run, his first of two on the night, but that was all Chicago would get off of Scherzer.
"I knew coming in we had to win these games. This was going to be the biggest start of the season for me, and I wanted to go out and give the team a chance to win," Scherzer said.
Detroit added three runs in the fifth and then took a 6-1 lead in the seventh off a three-run Prince Fielder homer. The Tigers have beaten Chicago in nine of the last 10 games to close the gap in the division to just one game.
"It's really big. If we just focus on trying to play good baseball, it should work out," Fielder said. "It feels like every time we score, they score and vice versa, but that's what happens. Anytime you have two good teams, you know it's not gonna be easy. Fortunate for us, we were able to beat them in the final round."
The home run was Fielders 26th on the season and helped snap a 0-for-18 skid. Fielder signed a nine-year, $214 million contract in the offseason that added lofty expectations for Detroit. After struggling during the first half of the season the team is now in prime position to overtake the division.
White Sox starter Gavin Floyd was solid in the first few innings, but only lasted into the fifth inning after giving up three runs. Floyd was making his first start since late August and threw only 70 pitches. With the loss he fell to 7-3 in his career against Chicago.
Chicago made the game interesting at the end though. Down 8-1 in the eighth the team scored a run before Kevin Youkilis hit a three-run shot off Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit. They added another run off Detroit closer Jose Valverde in the ninth, but it wasn't enough.
Valverde stuck out Orlando Hudson on a called strike to end the game for his 30th save on the season.
Since being traded from the Boston Red Sox in June, Youkilis has hit 14 home runs for the White Sox. He had struggled against Detroit all year, only hitting for a .119 average and entered last night's game in a 3-for-34 slump. He had four RBI's in the game.
Chicago was missing slugger Adam Dunn for the sixth straight game after he sat out with an oblique injury.
"We're going to have to win games after tomorrow, too," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "Scherzer pitched great, there was nothing going on there. You just continue to play. We're not quitting at any point. That's the one great thing about the team, they're not going to get down where they're giving up."
The Tigers lead the season series 12-5 against the White Sox.
The final game of the four-game series features a prime matchup of Cy Young candidates. Last year's award winner Justin Verlander will pitch for Detroit against Chicago's 23-year-old sensation Chris Sale, who has gone 16-6 with a 2.88 ERA this season.
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