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This was the game the White Sox were supposed to win. They had their best pitcher, Mark Buehrle, going up against Dontrelle Willis, who's been struggling for Detroit. But Willis (5 IP, 3 runs) outpitched Buehrle (6.1 IP, 5 runs), and the Sox wound up losing in extra innings.

The Sox tied the game twice, but couldn't take the lead. In the fifth inning, Brian Anderson poked a two-runner homer to even the score at 3-3, and in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox rallied from a three-run deficit to even things up at 6-6.

The Sox led off the ninth with what Curt Gowdy used to redundantly call three straight consecutive walks in a row to Anderson, Scott Podsednik, and Alexei Ramirez. After a pitching change, Jermaine Dye struck out swinging, but Jim Thome drew his third walk of the game, pushing across Anderson to make it 6-4. Ozzie sent in Dewayne Wise to run for Thome, and Paul Konerko doubled down the left field line. Pods and the Missile scored easily, but the Tigers made two perfect throws to nab Wise on an extremely close play at the plate. We've looked at the replay in slow motion several times and it's just too close for us to say one way or the other. The home plate umpire was well positioned to make the call and didn't hesitate in signalling out. Ozzie wasn't complaining about the call during his presser after the game, but it just may be that the Sox got robbed. Anyway, Scott Linebrink gave up a homer to Miguel Cabrera in the 10th, and the Sox didn't have another rally left in them, falling 7-6.

Aside from the two comebacks by the Good Guys, the most notable thing about the game was Gordon Beckham's first career hit. Beckham singled to center in the second inning. Of course, his second hit would have been even more memorable if it had come in the bottom of the ninth when he struck out to end the inning, stranding the would-be winning run on second base.

Speaking of young talent, the Sox called up Aaron Poreda from Double-A Birmingham after the game. Poreda takes the roster spot of Bartolo Colon, who goes on the DL with a bad case of inability to win games. Ozzie says Poreda, who's been a starter in the minors, will pitch out of the pen, leaving both Clayton Richard and Jose Contreras in the starting rotation for now.

In other young talent news, former Stanford football and baseball player and current Sox GM, Kenny Williams, opted for another football-baseball player in the amateur draft. Imagine Bud Selig doing his David Stern imitation: "With the 23rd pick in the draft, the Chicago White Sox select Jared Mitchell from Louisiana State University." Mitchell is a speedy centerfielder, with a .325 batting average, .471 on base percentage, and 35 stolen bases in 44 attempts. Sox director of amateur scouting, Doug Lauman, called him a "high-ceiling, athletic type of player," and Harold Reynolds of the MLB network said he has "the biggest upside" in the draft. The Sox also selected Josh Phegley, a catcher from Indiana, with the 38th pick, and high school outfielder Trayce Thompson (former NBA player Mychal Thompson's son) at No. 61.

The Sox failed to reduce the Magic Number and fell to 5.5 games behind Detroit. There are two games left in the series, so the best the Sox can do is wind up 3.5 games back. Make it happen, Cap'n. Go Sox!