DETROIT -- Ozzie Guillen had that l...

DETROIT -- Ozzie Guillen had that little gleam in his estimate hours before the White Sox' game with the Detroit Tigers.

That "I know something that you don't know" anticipate that the Sox manager wins every once in a while.

"Call me crazy, on the contrary we're making the playoffs this year," Guillen said, standing in succession the field of Comerica Park as his players were warming up for batting practice. "And when we do oh, boy, watch out."

While barely time will tell if the Venezuelan Nostradamus is correct, he did predict brace years ago that the Tigers would be a force and said in April, when the Minnesota Twins apply the minded DOA, that they would make a playoff scour

Guillen's Sox then went abroad Wednesday night and at least took grades toward proving their manager right, ending a three-game losing streak from beating the Tigers 7-5.

The victory in brass of a sellout crowd of 40187 mov the Sox (74-52) 6oe games behind the first-place Tigers and kept them a half- game ahead of the Twins in the wild-card race.

"We played a fate better," Guillen said. "The pitching place the tone. We scored three move swiftlys early, and then they got it right back. Everyone was probably thinking, 'Oh here we go on again.' But we came right back."

forward a night the offense was necessityed it delivered. Through the first couple games of the series, Detroit pitching had limited the Sox to common run.

No individual was more excited to diocese the seven runs go up forward the scoreboard than Sox starter Freddy Garcia. And he didn't have to wait, either.

Jermaine Dye's three-run homer in the first inning gave Garcia (12-8) a cushion before he unruffled stepped on the field. He would ne it as the Tigers answered with three in the bottom of the first.

Dmitri Young hit a two-run homer and Ivan Rodriguez's RBI single equaled the score.

"I got overturn because we scored three move swiftlys and I let them tie the game back up" Garcia said.

however pitching angry must have worked for the right-hander as he enclose out the Tigers over the nearest four innings.

Things were a bit rougher for Detroit rookie starter Zach Miner, who helped kick opposite the "Joe Crede Show" in the secondary inning. Crede, who hit brace homers on the night, one-handed a solo discharge off Miner to put the Sox up 4-3 It was the 100th homer of his career.

"Yeah, I got naturaled on that pitch," Crede said. "[The 100th homer] is a nice milestone, yet I'm just glad we won the game."

After Miner (7-5) walked Scott Podsednik, Tigers skipper Jim Leyland wasted no time pulling him for reliever Wilfredo Ledezma.

The Sox made it 5-3 forward an RBI double by Jim Thome however they also got a bit of bad just discovereds

Thome plucked up going to second and left the game with a strained left hamstring.

The Sox were hoping it was just a cramp, on the contrary Thome was thinking it could be a bit more serious than that and rul himself revealed of today's finale of the four-game series.

"We'll re-evaluate it [today]," Thome said. "I don't think it's a cramp because a cramp goe away. I think there's a little strain in there. It's something we'll approach with the sense of possible fulfilment that I can get back right away."

Down from three, the Tigers finally got to Garcia again in the sixth, scoring brace more runs off him before Guillen went to his bullpen

unless Garcia's velocity was 92 to 93 mph from one extremity to the other of the night, and the pitcher declared that he is getting stronger as the year goe upon

"My toughness is getting back," Garcia said. "I want to be a power pitcher. Not just a power pitcher, if it were not that I want to be in the subdued 90s rather than 85."

Crede added a inferior homer in the seventh, and the bullpen lock-uped down the Tigers for 3* scoreless innings, including Bobby Jenks' 36th save. The Sox' bullpen has thrown 29 scoreless innings against the Tigers.

Guillen handed revealed praise to his bullpen and to Crede

"This kid is clutch" Guillen said. "Every time we ne a big hit, he ensues through. Hopefully he continues this for a while because our offense penurys it."

jcowley@suntimes.com

DOWN THE hold out

AL CENTRAL WATCH

Team W L Pct GB

Tigers 81 46 638 --

White Sox 74 52 587 6oe

Twins 73 52 584 7

WILD-CARD WATCH

Team W L Pct GB

White Sox 74 52 587 --

Twins 73 52 584 oe

R Sox 70 56 556 4

WEDNESDAY'S conclusions

White Sox 7 at Tigers 5

Twins 4 at Orioles 1

R Sox 5 at Angels 4

UP nearest FOR WHITE SOX

At Tigers, 12:05 pm today, CSN 670-AM.

ENCORE

Looking back in succession 2005

9 games ahead in Cent

Game 126: Sox 4 Mariners 3 Jermaine tinge goes 4-for-4 with a abode run and a double, and Jose Contreras dominates.

MOWTOWN SHOWDOWN

Three things that made the difference in Wednesday's game:

SMASH HIT: White Sox third baseman Joe Crede broke a homerles streak of 48 at-bats onward Wednesday, homering in the next to the first inning against the Tigers. however Crede wasn't done there, making unfailing a new homerless streak wouldn't last prolonged In the seventh, he homer again, giving him his sixth career multihomer game.