The Tigers swept the White Sox out of town and dealt a devastating blow to their chances in the Central Division race with an 18-2 shellacking on Sunday at Comerica Park.
Detroit got to Chicago starter Mark Buehrle (11-7) early and often, chasing him in the fourth inning after he gave up eight runs -- seven earned -- on 10 hits.
Max Scherzer (14-8) pitched well for the Tigers despite having to sit for extended periods of time due to the amount of runs being scored. He finished with a five-hitter in seven innings of work with six strikeouts.
Detroit tacked on five runs in the fourth inning to what was already a 4-0 lead, then added nine more in the sixth -- highlighted by a monster two-run homer to dead center by Miguel Cabrera. In total, Detroit scored 26 unanswered runs on White Sox pitching over the last 14 innings of the series after erasing an 8-1 deficit on Saturday.
In lieu of recounting every single run, here's a condensed box score of the hit parade:
- Austin Jackson went 2-for-5 and scored three runs. His average is all the way up to .261 now.
- Alex Avila went 4-for-6 with two RBIs and also scored twice.
-
Andy Dirks came on late as a replacement for Delmon Young and went 2-for-2, including a two-run homer in the eighth.
- Victor Martinez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
- Brandon Inge was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Watch out .200, here he comes!
- Jhonny Peralta, Cabrera, Jackson and Avila all hit doubles.
- Detroit had 24 total hits for the game and outscored Chicago 35-11 for the series. AL Central Standings:
Detroit 78-62
Cleveland 6.5 GB
Chicago 8.5 GB
Minnesota 19.5 GB
Kansas City 20.5 GB