A game and a half.  That is what the White Sox lead is over the Tigers in the AL Central heading into the weekend series in Detroit.
The Tigers, who were left for dead by their fans a month ago, have gotten red hot and have closed the gap in the division thanks to a Major League best 13-5 record since June 28^th.  Now as we get ready for a 1^st place battle at Comerica Park, the Tigers and their fans are re-energized.

The Turnaround

How have the Tigers turned things around over the last few weeks?  While they continue to get solid to great performances from their superstars like Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander, the biggest difference has been with the bottom half of the order.  The Tigers are finally starting to get production from players who were keys to their run last season and had struggled for the majority of this season.
Delmon Young homered in 4 straight games leading up to the All Star break.  He is hitting .300 with 5 HRs and 13 RBI during the Tigers’ recent hot streak.  Brennan Boesch is hitting close to .400 since July 3^rd and hit the go ahead HR against the Angels the other night.  Jhonny Peralta, who has struggled after a career year last year, is hitting almost .300 with a couple HR’s since the end of June.  Alex Avila has been banged up but has started driving the ball with some authority in the last week as well.
With the bottom of the order finally contributing and the top of the order staying consistent with Austin Jackson and rookie-surprise Quintin Berry, the Tigers have started to score plenty of runs.  Detroit is also hitting .319 with runners in scoring position during their current 13-5 stretch.
Despite the recent success at the plate the Tigers still have question marks in the starting rotation. Sound familiar? While Justin Verlander is still the best pitcher in baseball and Doug Fister has shown signs of returning to form, the rest of the rotation remains a question mark.
Max Scherzer is 2^nd in the AL in strikeouts but still has an ERA north of 4.50.  Rick Porcello has one of the worst WHIP’s among qualifying pitchers.  The 5^th spot is currently occupied by top prospect Jacob Turner, who will pitch against the Sox on Sunday.  Turner was lit up by the Angels on Tuesday and has struggled with his fastball command at the Major League level.  If the White Sox want to win this series, they will need to take advantage of Porcello on Saturday and Turner on Sunday.

The Tigers Going Forward

Moving down the stretch I think both these teams are very similar.  The advantage the Tigers may have is that they have two players in the middle of the order who can carry you when the rest of your team struggles, which is what Cabrera and Fielder have been doing most of the season.
I don’t think it’s likely for Detroit to keep up their current pace; they should slow down.  Their schedule the rest of the way is not easy starting with a 9 game road trip to Cleveland, Toronto and Boston following the series with the Sox.  The Tigers have a home loaded August schedule but will face the likes of Cleveland, the Yankees, the Angels, Baltimore and Toronto before the White Sox come back to town over Labor Day weekend.  Now that will be a big series.

At the Deadline

Of course we need to wait and see what sort of moves each of these teams make at the trade deadline.  We know what White Sox fans want: veteran bullpen help and another starting pitcher.  What are the Tigers looking at?  Well they have been linked to a wide variety of players including Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Kelly Johnson, Justin Upton, Zack Greinke, Darwin Barney, Marco Scutaro, and Cole Hamels.
I think there is almost no chance they land Greinke or Hamels.  Those players will cost the Tigers too much to rent for half a season and there is no hope of re-signing  either of them following the season as the Tigers have almost $100 million tied up in 5 players.
It sounds like the Cubs are asking too much for Dempster for the Tigers’ liking, leaving them with limited options moving forward.  I do expect them to add pitching, though; they have an owner in his mid-80’s who wants to win a World Series now.  They will be as aggressive as he allows them to be.
Now that we have all learned a little more about the White Sox closest competition let’s check out the keys to the series for the South Siders.

Keys To Success

• Tame Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry: 

These two guys are the catalysts of the Tigers offense.  They are the only players with any speed and as they go, so do the Tigers.  Let’s face it, you would rather pitch to Cabrera and Fielder with as few base runners as possible.

• “C’mon now, no walks:”  The Tigers are an aggressive swinging team that has struck out more than twice as much as they have walked.  The White Sox cannot help them out by giving them free base runners.  Make them earn their way on base.  They haven’t faced very good pitching during this current stretch and Peavy and Sale especially need to make it tough on them.
• Two out runs:  The Tigers scored 13 2-out runs against the Angels in their last series.  The White Sox have struggled with runners in scoring position since the All Star break and need to do a better job cashing in runs, especially Friday against Verlander.

I will be working at the games for MLB on Friday and Sunday and will try and keep everyone posted with any news I hear and what I am seeing.  It should be a fun series with a great atmosphere.  Let’s see which team rises to the occasion.

*

Posted by Matt Hoeppner, Grab Some Bench! Contributor. Don’t Stop Believin’!