White Sox-Tigers preview

DETROIT -- Daniel Norris recently changed his delivery and the results give him hope for a strong finish to a mostly disappointing season.

The Detroit Tigers' second-year left-hander tossed a season-high 6 1/3 innings in his last start on Thursday and notched his second victory of the year. Norris recorded a season-high 12 outs on ground balls and didn't walk anybody in an 8-5 victory over Minnesota.

Norris, who will try to build off that effort when he faces the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, credits pitching coach Rich Dubee for his improvement.

"Dubee and I have been working on extending through the ball and finishing my delivery, rather than recoiling and cutting off," he said. "In doing that, it's helping me get lower in the zone. That obviously leads to ground ball outs. It's just a matter of attacking guys early and making them get themselves out."

Injuries have derailed Norris a good portion of the season, most recently a right oblique strain. He feels he's rounding into form for the team's homestretch as it tries to stay in the playoff hunt.

"I'm definitely where I want to be," he said. "It's a matter of going out there and pitching my game and getting on a good roll. I know when I do that, I can be as good as anybody and help this team win. That's what I really look foward to -- feeling that confidence out there and trusting my stuff."

Detroit began a stretch of playing 26 of 29 games against Central Division opponents. The Tigers won the opener against the White Sox 4-3 and remained 4 1/2 games behind Cleveland, which won 1-0 over Minnesota in extra innings on Monday.

"We're at a point we still kind of control our destiny," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "It may come to a point where we need someone else's help but right now, we've just got to win games."

The Tigers may be without centerfielder Cameron Maybin for a while. Maybin aggravated a thumb injury and left Monday's game early. X-rays were negative but he'll undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

The White Sox also began a long stretch within the division -- 21 consecutive games. Chicago has perked up lately, winning six of its last eight games prior to Monday's loss. That mini-surge has given the White Sox at least faint hope of reentering the postseason picture.

"We've been playing good baseball lately," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "We've scored some runs and we've had some great starting pitching. When you get that, you have a chance. Offensively, if we keep that up, there's a shot in there to make a run, especially when you're playing within your division a lot going into the last month."

Ventura was relieved that leadoff hitter Adam Eaton was healthy enough to return to the lineup on Monday. Eaton, who left Sunday's game against Seattle with a bruised right forearm, went 0-for-4 with a walk.

The White Sox will try to bounce back from Monday's defeat, when setup reliever Nate Jones gave up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

"Nate's been as consistent as anybody," Ventura said. "It's a tough one, especially when he's out there and he's got (good) stuff. Salty's gotten us a couple of times lately. That one's a tough one because you feel like you've grinded your way through it."

Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo will make his fourth start for the White Sox on Tuesday. He's 0-1 with a 7.88 ERA while allowing five home runs since being acquired from Texas.