The Detroit Tigers have a potentially season-shifting series coming up.
The Tigers (60-61) are hosting the Chicago White Sox (62-58) in the first game of a three-game series on Friday, Aug. 14. And though there's a month and a half left in the MLB regular season, this series could decide which American League Central team has the upper hand in the divisional race.
The Tigers enter the series 2½ games behind the first-place White Sox in the division. Two Tigers wins would gain them one game in the race, while a Tigers sweep would put them in first place in the division for the first time since May 5 when they shared the lead at 18-19 with Cleveland.
The Tigers are 38-23 since the beginning of June, the second-best record in the AL behind the Boston Red Sox. And though the White Sox are having a resurgent year following three straight seasons of at least 100 losses, Chicago has cooled off with a 30-31 record since June 1.
The Tigers are 3-3 against the White Sox this season, getting swept at Chicago's Rate Field in June and sweeping a three-game series at Comerica Park in June.
Following this series, the two teams have just a four-game series remaining Sept. 17-20 in Chicago.
Here's what you need to know about Friday night's Tigers vs. White Sox game.
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Tigers vs White Sox prediction for Friday's game
It's Jackson Jobe day, with the third-year pitcher making his second MLB start of the season on Friday.
Jobe looked electric in his first start against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 8, allowing one hit and no runs over five innings, regularly reaching 100 mph on his four-seam fastball. Jobe threw 71 pitches, and though he might not be let loose completely against the White Sox, he should reach closer to his fully-optimized pitch count (assuming he pitches well, of course).
He catches the White Sox at a good time. Chicago is 4-7 so far in August and just dropped a series to the last-place Cincinnati Reds. Meanwhile, the Tigers just exorcised a demon by winning two of three games against the Cleveland Guardians and are looking to prove they're still playoff-worthy after trading away their top two pitchers in ace Tarik Skubal and All-Star Casey Mize.
Game prediction: With the White Sox starting pitching situation in flux, and the Tigers settling into a rotation that may eventually feature Jobe as the most-feared starter, count on the Tigers to take the first game of the series. The pick: Tigers 6, White Sox 3.
Tigers game time today vs White Sox
- Date: Friday, Aug. 13.
- Time: 6:40 p.m. ET.
- Location: Comerica Park, Detroit.
Tigers TV channel today vs White Sox
- TV channel: Detroit SportsNet.
- Streaming:Fubo.
- Radio: WXYT-FM, 97.1.
Friday's game can be watched on Detroit SportsNet and streamed locally on Fubo, which carries DSN.
AL Central standings
- Chicago White Sox: 62-58
- Detroit Tigers: 60-61, 2½ games behind
- Minnesota Twins: 60-63, 3½ GB
- Cleveland Guardians: 59-63, 4 GB
- Kansas City Royals: 49-73, 14 GB
AL wild card standings
- 1. *New York Yankees: 68-52
- 2. *Boston Red Sox: 64-56
- 3. *Detroit Tigers: 60-61
- Texas Rangers: 60-61, – GB
- Minnesota Twins: 60-63, 1 GB
- Toronto Blue Jays: 59-63, 1½ GB
- Cleveland Guardians: 59-63, 1½ GB
- Baltimore Orioles: 58-63, 2 GB
- Seattle Mariners: 56-65, 4 GB
*Holds wild-card spot. Standings are as of Friday morning.
The Tigers hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers by virtue of a 4-2 regular-season record. They do not currently hold the tiebreaker over the Twins, Blue Jays or Guardians (with games left to play against all three opponents). The Orioles hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers by virtue of a 4-2 regular-season record.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers vs White Sox score prediction in critical AL Central opener