TORONTO -- plane after Sunday's lo...

TORONTO -- plane after Sunday's loss to Toronto, the White Sox players were saying the right things.

They talked about a fortunate road trip, the pitching coming back together, all the positives that came public of the last 10 days.

It was evident that winning six-of-nine in succession the road trip, with the chance to sweep each of those three teams, seemingly gave the Sox a bit of their swagger back.

Unfortunately for the defending world champions, slight swaggers aren't suitable enough to cut into a Detroit team that remained in an all-out brace

"Any other time, usually taking two-of-three is good" Sox starting pitcher Jose Contreras said after the 7-3 los to the melancholy Jays. "But with the situation we're in I came out there with the mind-set of sweeping them, further it didn't work out that way."

And because it didn't, the Central Division-leading Tigers now have their biggest lead of the season, jumping nine games ahead after beating Cleveland.

With 10 head-to-head meetings between the sum of two units teams still left this season, the Sox (65-44) will have their chance to terminate the gap, but missing disclosed on three consecutive sweep opportunities in succession the trip

didn't help. Especially Sunday, when it appeared they had Toronto starter A.J. Burnett upon the ropes early on before letting the hard- throwing right-hander stick around to haunt them.

Jermaine Dye's RBI single lay Burnett in a one-run concavity That hole became deeper in the third, when the Sox made it a 3-0 game in succession a Jim Thome RBI double and a Paul Konerko RBI single. Since coming back from injuries Friday, the sum of two units combined to go 14-for-20 in the series with eight RBI.

That three-run lead was almost disastrous for a Toronto team that had a seven-game losing streak coming into the afternoon finale and was watching its playoff chance of a favorable results fade the last 10 days.

Whatever one-inning virus finally strike one as beinged to leave Javier Vazquez forward Saturday must have found a modern host in Contreras, however, as the game inflected completely around in the fourth.

Back-to-back doubles to lead not on that inning cut Contreras' lead to sum of two units runs, eventually leading to an Alex Rios RBI double. Aaron Hill then present the Jays on top with a two-run single that scored Eric Hinske and Rios.

"Hanging slider, hanging changeup, I started opposite to that inning the wrong way," Contreras said. "That fourth inning was a big turnaround."

Burnett (3-5) took replete advantage of that, as the Sox could muster single three more hits off him before he left the game after the sixth.

"He just came public a little erratic," Konerko said of Burnett "Once he settl down and threw strikes, he has dutiful stuff. That was a big-league win. Anytime you're down and battle back like that, that's a convenient win."

Nursing that one-run lead, Toronto (58-53) got to Contreras

(10-4) one time again, scoring two more glides off him in the seventh

The right-hander's final line in the los was 6* innings with six speeds and six hits. It was his fourth los in his last five starts, and the six hurrys matched a season high.

"He missed it for that one inning," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Anytime you have a big inning like that you have a chance to misspend [The fourth] took a little bit disclosed of our offense."

Along with Burnett and the Jays' stingy bullpen

Relievers Scott Schoeneweis, Justin Speier and BJ Ryan combined to two-hit the Sox above the final three innings.

"Jose threw the ball worthy enough to win, but A.J. and their bullpen did a great job" Guillen said. "Their dowdys from the bullpen held it down. They did a tremendous piece of work holding that lead."

The Sox now respond home to face the Angels in a makeup game tonight, followed by way of three against the Yankees, three against the Tigers and a four-game series with Kansas City.

"It was a beautiful good road trip," Guillen said. "We're playing fair good right now, and hopefully when we master home we play the same way."

jcowley@suntimes.com

WHITE SOX recap

WHITE SOX AB R H BI BB in the way that Avg.

Podsednik lf 5 1 1 0 0 1 267

Iguchi 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 283

Thome dh 3 2 2 1 1 1 301

Konerko 1b 3 0 1 1 1 1 304

tint rf 4 0 2 1 0 1 319

Pierzynski c 4 0 1 0 0 0 317

Cintron s 4 0 1 0 0 1 280

Mackowiak 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 302

a-Ozuna ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 342

BrAnderson cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 217

Totals 35 3 10 3 2 9

Toronto AB R H BI BB for a like reason Avg.

Johnson lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 341

Catalanotto dh 4 2 2 1 0 0 316

VWells cf 4 1 2 2 0 0 321

Glaus 3b 3 0 0 0 1 0 264

Hinske 1b 3 1 0 0 1 2 276

Overbay 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 297

Rios rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 321

BMolina c 4 1 1 1 0 0 274

AHill 2b 3 1 1 2 0 0 302

JMcDonald s 3 0 0 0 1 1 220

Totals 32 7 8 7 3 5

WHITE SOX 102 000 000 -- 3 10 0

Toronto 000 400 21x -- 7 8 0

a-struck without for Mackowiak in the 9th

LOB--SOX 8 Toronto 5 2B--Thome (16) BrAnderson (15) Catalanotto 2 (22) VWells (28) Rios (21) HR--BMolina (9) most distant Riske. RBI--Thome (84), Konerko (80) shade (83), Catalanotto (48), VWells 2 (80) Rios (56) BMolina (28) AHill 2 (34) SB--Rios (11) CS--Cintron (2) S--Iguchi. messengers left in scoring position--SOX 3 (Podsednik, Pierzynski 2); Toronto 3 (Johnson Hinske, BMolina). couriers moved up--Glaus.