whitesoxnation

An offense that had exploded for 40 runs in the last five games suddenly again became quiet Thursday as the White Sox lost another heartbreaker to the Tigers 2-1 on a sunny afternoon in Detroit. The loss gave the White Sox a three-game losing streak in which their offense returned to its run less ways. The afternoon started positively in the second inning with Paul Konerko doubling to the left-center field gap and reaching third on an error by Tigers right fielder Ryan Raburn. The next batter, Jermaine Dye flew out to deep center field scoring Konerko on the sac fly. For a while, it seemed like that was all starter Mark Buerhle would need. In a return to form, Buerhle pitched five scoreless innings before allowing a run on an RBI single by Carlos Guillen in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at one. Buerhle had a stellar game on the mound, pitching eight innings while giving up seven hits and striking out six. However, the offense struggled to get runs across the plate grounding into two big double plays and leaving for men on base. The game was decided in the bottom of the ninth with Octavio Dotel being taken deep by Miguel Cabrera.  During this series, the White Sox played against two pitchers that many of the hitters in the lineup have had good success against, with the exception of Kenny Rogers who always seems to pitch a great game against us. The pitching remains stellar for the most part while the offense again began to struggle. The series was a big series because the White Sox were coming off a 7-0 homestand during which they stretch their division lead to 6 1/2 games over the Minnesota Twins. Taking two out of three or perhaps taking all three of these games would have probably added to that lead. The White Sox begin interleague play starting tomorrow with the Colorado Rockies coming to town for three games, followed by three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates. These games should provide the White Sox with some chances to win a few games going into the Cubs series at Wrigley next week. The White Sox still remain in first place  over the Minnesota Twins with a five-game lead as of Thursday afternoon.

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