Tigers hope to play spoiler against White Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers' postseason chances have probably gone by the wayside. However, they will get a chance to play spoiler this week and open a four-game series with the playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park.

While the Tigers sit 12 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central, the White Sox are only 3 1/2 behind in the divisional race.

The White Sox won their sixth straight game on Sunday when Gordon Beckham and Juan Pierre drew the go-ahead and insurance bases-loaded walks, as Chicago staged a four- run ninth-inning rally to take a 7-5 decision over the Boston Red Sox in the finale of a three-game set from Fenway Park.

Carlos Quentin stroked a run-scoring double and Ramon Castro added an RBI single during the burst for the White Sox, who swept the set after taking both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Scott Linebrink (3-1) allowed a run in the eighth but picked up the win. Matt Thornton turned in a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.

"This was a huge win for us," said Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen. "Especially the way that we were losing the game. It just shows that this team never gives up and it was big."

Heading to the hill for the White Sox this afternoon will be Edwin Jackson, who has gone 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA in five starts since arriving from Arizona on July 30.

Jackson, who pitched last season for the Tigers, defeated the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, holding them to three runs and seven hits in 8 2/3 innings to run his overall record on the year to 9-10 to go along with a 4.37 ERA.

This will be his third start against his former team since joining the White Sox and is a perfect 3-0 lifetime against the Tigers with a 2.63 ERA in seven games, five of which have been starts.

Getting the call for the Tigers today will be hard-throwing righty Max Scherzer, who is 3-0 in his last four starts. Scherzer did not get a decision on Wednesday in Minnesota, but was terrific, as he allowed a run and four hits in nine innings. He also struck out nine in his team's 2-1 extra-inning loss.

Over his last nine starts Scherzer is 4-2 and has allowed three runs or less in each outing, surrendering one or less in seven of those games.

He did not get a decision the last time he faced the White Sox, and is 0-1 in two starts against them with a 3.14 ERA.

Detroit was denied a sweep in its series with the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, as it dropped a 2-1 decision at Kauffman Stadium.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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