[Pin Fish]

Drew Gordon
Today's Games... 1. 100,000♦ Tigers
2. 50,000♦ Marlins

1. Tigers- I know the 4-game sweep seems improbable to some bettors, but rest-assured, the Tigers take care of business tonight at Comerica and here's why:

First, while neither starter is pitching well at this point, I give the edge to Rick Porcello for several reasons. Although he was rusty in his last start after getting some much needed rest earlier this month, I'm looking for the young righty to bounce back nicely here as he gets back into his routine. Rookies tend to hit the wall, but giving him two weeks off earlier this month will pay dividends for this Tigers club.

Second, although lefty Clayton Richard is coming off an excellent start, a couple things should worry White Sox-backers in this one: A. He threw a lot of pitches vs the Rays in his last one, and fatigue could very well play a factor, as we saw in early July. B. Look at his stats and you tell me how many back-to-back quality starts Richard's has produced. The answer: just 2 and that was back in May. In other words, based on his history, why would you expect another quality effort here tonight?! And that leads me to my next point...

Perhaps the strongest piece of evidence against the White Sox and specifically Richard is the fact the Tigers are an outstanding 12-2 versus lefties at Comerica this season! They average an impressive 6.3 runs per game in that spot, batting a red-hot .299 in the process! For a pitcher as inconsistent as Richard, he's about to get thrown to the lions (I mean Tigers) in this one!

Finally, not only are the White Sox struggling to score, but their bullpen has been total garbage of late, posting a laughable 6.06 ERA over their last 3 games! I know bettors are hesitant to back a 4-game sweep of the White Sox, but based on all the information above, the answer is clear: The Tigers circle the wagons at home, Porcello shakes off the rust, and Richard runs into a Tigers offense that feasts on southpaws! Tigers roll!

Take the Tigers behind Porcello over the Chicago White Sox and Richard as your top-rated play of the day.