It's rare to get Chris Sale as an underdog especially when facing a past-his-prime, inconsistent Justin Verlander, whose ERA is 4.68 compared to Sale's 2.20. Detroit has lost four of the past five times when Verlander has pitched following a quality start during his last appearance.

Sale is 7-1 in day games this season with a 1.96 ERA. Verlander has a 4.67 ERA in day action.

Verlander did pitch well in his last start holding the Royals to one run in 7 1/3 innings this past Friday. Previous to that, though, Verlander had a 6.05 ERA in three September starts.

Sale wasn't sharp in his last outing giving up five runs and nine hits in five innings in a 6-2 loss to Kansas City last Wednesday. However, Sale had seven quality starts in a row prior to that. Sale had yielded just four earned runs in his last four starts before facing the Royals last week with 33 strikeouts in 27 innings during that span.

Sale is battling Felix Hernandez for the ERA title so he and the White Sox should be motivated. Chicago has displayed recent resiliency going 5-1 following a loss,. Sale has a 2.93 career ERA mark versus the Tigers in 20 games. He should be strong with extra rest.