41

No question who the ace of the White Sox pitching staff is -- it' s Jon Garland. And if you needed proof, Garland provided it today, shutting out Detroit on six hits, and improving his record to 15-4. Garland had plenty of run support -- 10 big ones -- courtesy of White Sox bats that continue to show signs of waking from their recent slumber. Among the team's 14 hits were home runs by Jermaine Dye, his 36th and 37th, and Juan Uribe, his 15th. Hell, even Brian Anderson had two base knocks, raising his average to .228, well above the Mendoza Line. And they did this without Jim Thome, who was resting his strained left hammy. Ross Gload played first and Paulie took over Thome's DH spot.

The Sox win/Tigers loss means the two teams are back where they started the series: Detroit up by 5.5 games, a considerable improvement over the 10-game bulge they enjoyed on August 7, but not the slim, 1.5 game lead they would have had if the Sox had swept. The Magic Number is 41 and the lead over the Twins, who play tonight, is temporarily one game.

By the way, kudos to the Tigers fans. The attendance is listed at 41,565 , which is 101.2% of Comerica Park's capacity. Too bad they had to see their team get trounced. Go Sox!