Preview: White Sox At Tigers

[April 22, 2014]  Detroit's Justin Verlander was scheduled to oppose Chris Sale when the Tigers host the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, but Sale is headed for the 15-day disabled list with a flexor muscle strain in his pitching arm. Chicago general manager Rick Hahn said preliminary MRI results showed the ligament looks excellent. "So, at this point, we figured we are much better off having him miss the start here in Detroit and miss the start against Tampa Bay and then re-evaluate," Hahn told mlb.com. "Hopefully, the recovery from this goes as smoothly as the last couple of times we've dealt with this and he's able to take the ball when his 15 days are up."

Instead, Charlie Leesman makes his second career start for Chicago, which won the opener of the four-game series 3-1 on Monday to improve to 8-24 in its last 32 games in Detroit. The White Sox entered Monday leading the American League in runs scored (106) and runs allowed (106) but were held to one hit in six innings before Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo delivered RBI doubles in a three-run seventh while John Danks recorded his fourth straight quality start to begin the season. Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, the two-time defending American League MVP, is hitting .206 with one homer and seven RBIs and is 1-for-15 in his last four contests.

TV: 7:08 p.m. ET, MLBN, WCIU (Chicago), FSN Plus (Detroit)

PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox LH Charlie Leesman (2013: 0-0, 7.04 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Justin Verlander (2-1, 2.08)

Leesman, who pitched 15 1/3 innings over eight games in 2013 — his first major league season, will be called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Cincinnati native made his only start in his major-league debut Aug. 9, when he allowed one run, four hits and five walks while striking out eight in Chicago's 3-2 loss to Minnesota. Leesman was 0-2 with a 1.59 ERA while allowing 15 hits and striking out 11 in 17 innings over three starts with Charlotte this season.

Verlander left after five innings and 113 pitches Thursday, allowing three unearned runs, six hits and four walks while striking out seven in a 7-5 victory over Cleveland. The 31-year-old Manakin-Sabot, Va., native is 14-12 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 29 career starts against Chicago — 0-2, 5.54, 1.92 last season. The White Sox's roster is hitting .217 against Verlander, with Adam Dunn (5-for-25, three homers, seven RBIs and 11 strikeouts) an all-or-nothing proposition.

WALK-OFFS

1. Abreu (five home runs, 18 RBIs) is 6-for-13 with a homer and four RBIs in his last three games, raising his average to .244.
   

2. Chicago is 6-5 during a stretch in which it plays 23 straight games against teams with winning records in 2013.
   

3. The White Sox's Paul Konerko needs four total bases to equal Hall-of-Famer Frank Thomas's club record of 3,949.
   

PREDICTION: Tigers 3, White Sox 2

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