Jonathon Crighton
Staff Writer
The White Sox made an emphatic statement in the American League Central on
Monday with a win over the Tigers, and a pair of teams crept closer to the
Cardinals in the National League Wild Card race.
Monday's action began with an afternoon showdown between the White Sox and
Tigers -- a makeup of a rainout last Thursday. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0
lead, but couldn't hold it as the White Sox rallied for a 5-4 victory. The
White Sox now sit three games ahead of Detroit in the division.
The Phillies pulled to within 3 1/2 games in the NL Wild Card, thanks to a
gem from Cliff Lee, who outdueled the Mets' Cy Young candidate, R.A. Dickey.
In other games of note, the Braves beat the Marlins to further tighten their
grip on the top NL Wild Card spot, and the Rays dropped to five back in the AL
Wild Card race with their 5-2 loss to Boston.
Tampa Bay's deficit reached five when the Orioles thumped the Mariners,
10-4, in Seattle. Nate McLouth and Matt Wieters each homered to pull them
within half a game of the Yankees in the AL East.
Strangely, it was the Pirates and Cubs to finish the night up in Chicago,
thanks to a rain delay that lasted three hours and 37 minutes. Kevin Correia
threw seven two-hit frames to pull the Pirates to within 2 1/2 games of St.
Louis in the Wild Card race.
