It’s not a pins-and-needles situation, but the White Sox are realizing there will be no cushion similar to the 2005 regular season.
On Tuesday night, they open a three-game series against AL Central leader Detroit without much margin for error after losing five of their last six games and watching their one-game deficit expand to 4Q games.
“It’s going to be a bigger series,” catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “They want to show us we don’t have a chance to catch them, and we want to show them we can. It’s going to come down to us playing well.”
The Sox, from manager Ozzie Guillen to his players, recognize they haven’t been hitting in the clutch or playing the mistake-free baseball that typified the 23-8 stretch they enjoyed before falling into a rut three games before the All-Star break.
“We have to look at it like we need to play well,” Pierzynski said. “It’s not about the standings. We haven’t been pitching well. We haven’t been hitting well the last few days. Against Boston, we didn’t play real well. I don’t know if it was the break sandwiched there or what.
“Myself included, we just haven’t played very well. It’s something we take pride in, coming every day and playing well and putting pressure on the other team.”
The Sox have taken five of six games from the Tigers, including four by two runs or fewer because of their ability to hit in the clutch.
That trait deserted them as they went 5-for-35 over the weekend in New York. That has put more stress on a pitching staff that has allowed five runs or more in its last seven games.
“We’re going to control the outcome of what happens between now and the end of the season,” leadoff man Scott Podsednik said. “We can’t get caught up with who we’re playing or how many games you’re behind. Just focus your energy on that game.”
The Sox have won 10 of their last 12 games at Comerica Park, including last September’s division-clinching game and three straight in April.
But the Tigers have lost two consecutive games only once since dropping the first two games of a three-games series June 6-7 in Chicago.
Taking a series from Detroit would allow the Sox to stay close to the Tigers in the division race, rather than trying to stay ahead of the Yankees in the AL wild-card chase.
“My thing is win the division,” Guillen said. “It’s easier to win the division than win the wild card. I would rather have one headache then seven headaches.”
