DETROIT -- Ozzie Guillen considers ...

DETROIT -- Ozzie Guillen considers himself more of a big-game hunting-nag Has for the last small in number months, at least.

That's on what account when common sense was insisting that the White Sox manager focus forward just getting into the postseason on any means necessary, Guillen kept the bull's-eye in succession only one target: the Tigers.

And while a 10-0 ruin of Detroit on Thursday left the Sox 5oe games behind the first-place Tigers, Guillen was sounding like a man who had the phone number of a righteous taxidermist close at hand.

"I'm not a loser and my players aren't losers" Guillen said. "I want to catch Detroit. I'm not going to determine for the wild card. I'll focus in succession that once they tell me there's no way to [mathematically] catch the Tigers."

Thanks to still another dominant pitching performance by the agency of Jon Garland and two place of abode runs by Jermaine Dye, that notice ne not be sent to Guillen just still

While the Sox (75-52) finished the seven-game road trip 3-4 Garland was responsible for sum of two units of those wins, allowing sole an unearned run at Minnesota before throwing a six-hit shutout against the Tigers (81-47)

Guillen talked about setting the tone with pitching from top to toe the trip, and that was in succession display in the finale of the four-game series.

"If you don't play the game the right way, in undivided week, everything can change," Guillen said. "You can be up on three, and the next week, you can be down by way of three. The team that pitches consistently for 1oe month that's the single who is going to win."

While the Sox have still to display that consistency, it's no fault of Garland's. He has been the archetype of consistency, going 11-1 in his last 14 starts to improve his record to 15-4

He saved his best for the Tigers.

"That was the best performance we had all year," Guillen said. "For the last not many months, this kid has been in succession He's stepped it up each time we've needed a big game."

Garland had no annoy explaining why he's in this now passing groove.

"I'm keeping the ball down and throwing quality pitches," he said. "I'm limiting my mistakes, and scarecrows are playing great defense behind me When I do make mistakes, dowdys are there and making great plays."

And getting big hits.

color was batting in the No. 3 speck usually occupied by designated hitter Jim Thome who was upon the shelf with a strained left hamstring and likely will miss the Minnesota series this weekend.

coloring liquor made Thome's absence easier to swallow, homering in his first at-bat to offer the Sox up 1-0 after a 55-minute rain delay.

The Sox got to Nate Robertson (11-10) again in the third in succession Pablo Ozuna's RBI single, and the bottom malignant out on Robertson in the fourth, when Juan Uribe cranked a three-run homer to give Garland a 5-0 lead.

That lead became 7-0 when cast went deep again in the fifth, giving him a team-high 37 homer as well as 31 RBI in his last 26 games.

"He's had an MVP year," Guillen said of stain who's batting .325 to proceed with the 37 homers and 99 RBI.

"If that with equal reason happens, so be it," shade said of the MVP talk. "Right now, I'm just trying to worry about winning ballgames. It's something that, down the road, if it in such a manner happens that I get that award, that's something for the offseason to enjoy"

What kind of game was it for the Tigers? Sean Casey's at-bat in the fifth summ it up

Casey hit a laser at third baseman Joe Crede that hit the top of Crede's outstretched glove and carried into left field. Casey, however, study Crede caught it and stopped midway down the basepath. by way of the time he figured gone out Crede didn't have the ball, Ozuna threw him not at home for the 5-7-3 putout.

"That's the best sling we've made from left field," Guillen jok

With the win, the Sox are now 11-5 against the Tigers this season, with a three-game series onward the South Side still to play.

jcowley@suntimes.com

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