The Chicago White Sox hold a slim lead on the Detroit Tigers as the two teams continue their three-game series in Detroit. The Tigers were supposed to be the division favorites but injuries and an overall, combined underachieving effort has led to them trying to come from behind.
Saturday's pitching matchup between John Danks and Justin Verlander is an important one. After this series, the two teams will meet up six more times but all of them will be in Chicago. The Tigers are 1-2 at U.S. Cellular Park this season.
The Tigers whole starting rotation has dropped off since the days that they were a World Series contender but Verlander is getting back into form. He was terrible in the first month of the season. He allowed 22 earned runs in his first 30 innings pitched. He's allowed only 17 earned runs in his last 61.2 innings pitched.
Verlander is 4-0 in July with an ERA of 2.20, averaging more than seven innings per start. Opposing hitters are batting only .168 against him this month. In 12 home starts this year, Verlander has an ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.14.
The Tigers have performed pretty well over the last couple of months when Verlander starts. They have won his last six starts after winning only one of his first nine starts.
Verlander will faceoff against Danks, who has been a pleasant surprise for the White Sox this year. Danks is 7-4 after posting a 6-13 record last year and leads the team in ERA.
Danks has pitched better on the road than at home this season. He is 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA on the road opposed to 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA at home. His WHIP is a sparkling 1.06 and batters are only hitting .223 when he pitches on the road. The White Sox are 4-1 in Danks' last five road starts.
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