AL Central Playoff Race: White Sox, Tigers Tied For First in Standings

The Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox are tied for the first place spot in the AL Central following a Tigers win and a White Sox loss on Monday.

White Sox fans probably saw this coming. The team has struggled in the last month of baseball, but remained in the top spot of the standings since the Tigers have also been struggling late in the season.

The White Sox lost early in the day, so by the time the Tigers hit the field Monday night, they knew they could tie the division with a win.

Anibal Sanchez apparently took this as motivation, pitching a complete game, three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and one walk. The offense got started early and gave Sanchez just enough runs to work with as Prince Fielder and Delmon Young each drove in a run in the bottom of the first.

From then on, the game went scoreless and Sanchez stayed on the mound to claim the 2-0 victory.

For the White Sox, it was a disappointing loss as they dropped their afternoon game to the Cleveland Indians. The Indians had a big fourth inning, tacking three runs to an already 1-0 lead. They finished with just enough runs to get by the Sox as the game finished 4-3 in their favor. 

Both the White Sox and Tigers are in action Wednesday. The Tigers will give the ball to Rick Porcello. He will go against Jeremy Guthrie, who has been on fire since being traded to the Kansas City Royals. Meanwhile, the White Sox have Hector Santiago on the mound going against the Indians' Justin Masterson.

The White Sox should try and take advantage of Guthrie being on the mound against the Tigers. He has what it takes to quiet their powerful lineup, but Santiago will have to come out dealing against the Indians.

The Royals and Indians would hate to have their division rivals beat them to claim the top spot in the standings, so look for both teams to play hard even though they are out of the race. 

The action begins in Detroit at 7:05 p.m. ET/6:05 p.m. CT. Meanwhile, players will take the field a little after 8:10 p.m. ET/7:10 p.m. CT in Chicago.

Here are both teams' records as they sit tied for first place in the AL Central. 

(Source:MLB.com)