Sox Start Second Half With Huge Series Victory

The Sox got off to a fast start Sunday in their quest to sweep the rival Detroit Tigers. Alex Rios hit a double that knocked in one, followed by a sacrifice fly from A.J. Pierzynski, and an RBI single from Gordon Beckham. Two innings in to the game and the Sox had a 3-0 lead. That it would be it for the Sox offense and the Tigers would come back to win the series finale 4-3.

Philip Humber took the loss for the Sox Sunday. Humber seemed to run out of gas in the sixth inning when the Tigers battled back to take the lead. The Sox righty went five and two-thirds and allowed four runs on seven hits to go along with eight strikeouts. Humber fell to 8-6 on the season.

Brad Penny bounced back to get the win for the Tigers. After a slow start, Penny settled down and went six and two-thirds allowing three runs on nine hits. The Tigers veteran is now 7-6 on the season and is 3-0 against the Sox.

This was a very important series for the Sox. They have struggled against the Tigers the past few seasons and a series win is huge. The two teams will meet nine more times this season.

The Sox will continue their road trip with a stop in Kansas City. First game of the three-game series is Monday night.

Humber, Sox Go For Sweep Against Tigers

The all-star break couldn't have come at a better time for the Chicago White Sox. The Sox had just finished a 2-5 homestand against two teams that were below them in the standings, and they still couldn't win at home or against teams from their own division. A few days away from the game and the Sox have seemed to enjoy the mental break and Sunday will go for their first three-game sweep over the Tigers since April of 2008.

Philip Humber was one of the few bright spots for the Sox in the first half of the season. Humber went 8-5 with a 3.10 ERA.  The Sox righty is coming off his only real bad outing of the season. On July 7th, Humber didn't make it out of the fourth inning allowing six runs on 11 hits in a loss to the Twins. Sunday will be the first time that Humber will start against the Tigers.

The Tigers will counter with Brad Penny. Penny is 6-6 with an ERA of 4.50 on the season. As average as those numbers might be, his numbers against the White Sox this season are anything but average. In two previous starts this season, Penny is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.25 against the Sox.

The forecast in Detroit at the time of first pitch is temps in the 90's under sunny skies. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 CST. The game can be seen on WGN.