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Garland shuts out Tigers as White Sox complete sweep

CHICAGO -- Jon Garland and the Chicago White Sox can
credit a lot of their success this season to the Detroit Tigers.

Garland tossed a four-hitter and Paul Konerko ended a 13-game
homerless drought with a solo blast in the fifth inning as the
White Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Tigers with a 2-0
victory.

Owners of the best record in the American League, Chicago
(84-51) has swept Detroit three times this season and has won 12
of 15 matchups overall. Sunday's win completed the White Sox's
first four-game sweep of the Tigers since 1996. The teams will
wrap up the season series in Detroit later this month.

"Thank God we are playing better baseball," White Sox manager
Ozzie Guillen said. "The last series we played here we played
very poorly. I think to play the way we played against that
team, a good hitting team, and to pitch that well against them,
maybe we are back in the role we are supposed to be."

Chicago had lost five of its previous six contests at U.S.
Cellular Field before facing the Tigers.

Garland (17-8), who is one win behind Anaheim's Bartolo Colon
for the league lead, improved to 3-0 with a 0.35 ERA in three
starts against the Tigers in 2005, including two shutouts.

"I'm not sure what it is about Detroit," Garland said. "Maybe
they are just catching me on good days, or maybe it's something
about their lineup, I don't know. I am aware that they do have
a lot of good hitters."

"I put out our so-called big guns except for Pudge (Ivan
Rodriguez) and it still didn't work out," Tigers manager Alan
Trammell said. "That is just how it has been for us this year.
Things haven't meshed as well as we would like. I am just glad
to get out of here."

The righthander threw 81 of 123 pitches for strikes and allowed
just two runners past second base to win for the first time in
five starts.

"It's always nice to win a game," Garland said. "All that
matters though is that the team continues to go out and win
games. That's what it comes down to, it's not about one
person."

Detroit nearly broke through against Garland in the fourth.
Chris Shelton opened the frame with a long fly ball to center
field that was tracked down by Aaron Rowand. After getting
Dmitri Young to fly out, Garland allowed consecutive singles to
former teammate Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Pena to put runners
on the corners.

Craig Monroe followed with a sharp grounder down the third base
line, but Pablo Ozuna made a diving stop and fired to first base
to end the inning.

"Rowand's catch on Chris Shelton at the wall got me pumped up,"
Garland said. "I know I would have been out of the game in the
ninth if Pablo hadn't made that diving play on Monroe to get me
out of the jam in the fourth."

The Tigers also had a chance in the eighth, when Omar Infante
opened the frame with a double. After pinch hitter Ivan
Rodriguez popped out to shallow center field, Placido Polanco
lifted a fly ball to deep right field, allowing Infante to
advance.

With two relievers warming up in the bullpen, Guillen went to
the mound but decided to stay with his starter. Garland
responded by striking out Chris Shelton on three pitches - his
seventh and final strikeout of the game - to escape the inning.

"I went out and asked him how he felt," Guillen said. "He said
he felt fine and I believe my pitchers. He was throwing the
ball fine so that's why I left him in there."

"By the way he was walking out, you could tell he was just
coming out to see if I was all right," Garland said. "Usually if
he is going to pull you, he takes his time walking out and has
a look on his face like he is thinking hard. This time he came
out in a hurry. He just asked if I was all right and then let
me go."

Garland worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to finish his
third shutout of the season and second vs. the Tigers.

He got all the support he needed in the first, when rookie
Tadahito Iguchi scored Scott Podsednik with a single off Jeremy
Bonderman (14-12). Konerko provided some insurance in the fifth
with his 33rd homer and first since August 21.

Bonderman did not allow much thereafter. The righthander
yielded five hits with a walk in eight innings, striking out six
in his fourth complete game of the season.

"That's the way it goes sometimes," said Bonderman, who lost his
third straight start. "We are not playing well as a team right
now, we just have to get back to Detroit and figure things out."

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