Tigers No Match for White Sox, 7-1

The Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball. They just can’t seem to beat the Chicago White Sox this season -- or at home in recent years.

Paul Konerko hit two home runs and Jon Garland pitched seven strong innings to lead the White Sox to a 7-1 victory over Detroit on Tuesday night in the matchup of the American League Central’s top two teams.

The Tigers are 1-6 against the World Series champions, who have won 12 of their last 14 games at Comerica Park.

“It is one of the nicer ballparks in the league to pitch at, a lot nicer than ours the way the ball jumps out,” Garland said. “We come here ready to play, and we play good.”

Detroit (62-31) has been good enough to lead the White Sox, who own the second-best record in the majors, by 3 1/2 games in the division.

Keeping an eye on the big picture, Detroit Manager Jim Leyland is doing his best to tone down the hype the series is generating.

“Whether we win three or lose three, come Thursday, I’m not going to say the season is over,” Leyland said. “I won’t be celebrating and I won’t be crying because we’ll have 67 games left.”

Chicago broke open the first of a three-game series with two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh -- with Konerko hitting a homer in each inning -- giving Garland more than enough support.

Garland (9-3) gave up one run, six hits and one walk while striking out five to win his fifth decision in a row.