Tigers Look To Sweep White Sox

Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers will look to complete a rare four-game sweep in Chicago.

The Detroit Tigers will look to complete a four-game road sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon, a feat the club hasn’t achieved since the 1980 season.

The Tigers picked up a second straight 6-2 victory over the White Sox Wednesday, making it three in a row against their division rivals.They’ll look to make it four in a row on Thursday.

The last time the Michigan club won a four-game series in Chicago’s South Side came on the weekend of June 20-22, 1980, which included a doubleheader sweep on the Sunday.

Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter all homered in Wednesday’s game as the offense gave starter Anibal Sanchez (8-7, 2.68 ERA) the type of run support that has been missing for too many of his starts this season. Sanchez acquiesced with six shutout innings.

The victory saw the Tigers maintain a 3 1/2 games lead over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central standings.

The Tribe itself managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners Wednesday, posting a crushing 10-1 win at Safeco Field, snapping the M’s eight-game winning streak in the process. The Indians are also 3 1/2 games back in the race for a Wild Card berth.

Miguel Cabrera has missed two games with a hip flexor injury.

Detroit’s 6-2 victory Wednesday night marked the second straight game in which MVP and Triple Crown contender Miguel Cabrera was absent from the lineup. Cabrera suffered a hip flexor injury in Monday’s series opener and wasn’t included in Jim Leyland’s lineup for Tuesday’s game. His return is listed as day-to-day.

Detroit will continue to be without infielder Omar Infante, who has been out of action with an ankle injury since July 3. Infante went 1 for 3 in his first rehab game with Class-A West Michigan on Wednesday night.

Chicago meanwhile continue to be without closer Jesse Crain (shoulder), who is expected to play catch Thursday before resuming rehab, and center fielder DeWayne Wise (hamstring), who will make his way to Triple-A Charlotte for a rehab game on Friday.

Detroit (56-44, 27-25 road) will send Justin Verlander (10-7, 3.69 ERA) to the mound. Verlander has flip-flopped wins and losses over his last four starts, a clear demonstration on what has been an inconsistent season for the 2011 Cy Young winner.

In Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, the right-hander allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits and four walks, as the Tigers fell 6-5 in the City of Fountains. Things weren’t any better the last time he faced the Sox either. On July 9 he yielded five earned runs, including two home runs, on 12 hits, and went on to watch his club lose 11-4. He, and his club, will be hoping for better Thursday afternoon.

Jake Peavy may not be in the Windy City much longer.

Chicago (39-59, 21-25 home) will counter with Jake Peavy (7-4, 4.19 ERA), providing he’s still in uniform at game time that is.

Peavy, who leads the club in wins, has reportedly caught the attention of the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals amongst others, and with the non-waiver trade deadline just six days away, the Sox may be looking to move him sooner rather than later.

Peavy made his first start in six weeks last Saturday as he returned from a rib injury. He pitched six innings against the Atlanta Braves, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks. The Sox went on to defeat the Braves 10-6. Prior to that game, the right-hander had lost three of four starts.

Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox odds for 7/25/2013 are available now.

Detroit (-135) opened as a road favorite over the White Sox (+125) on the moneyline, a result of the combination of the club’s 4-2 record against its divisional rival this season and the Sox abysmal play of late. Expect that line to stretch further in favor of the Tigers ahead of first pitch (2:10 p.m. ET).

Detroit has taken 13 of the last 17 games from the White Sox and once again look like the smart bet heading into play on Thursday.

The over/under opened at 8.

Detroit (53-44-3) has favored the over this season while Chicago (41-49-8), the second to last ranked club in scoring this season, has favored the under. The first four meetings between the clubs this season saw the total go over, while the remaining two games saw an under and a push.

Peavey has given up four or more runs in his last three outings while Verlander has yielded three or more runs in five of his last seven starts. The smart money looks to be on the over.