White Sox Hold Wild-Card Lead, Tigers Near Elimination

The Chicago White Sox remain in a tight American League playoff race after beating the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday, with Miguel Vargas hitting his 33rd home run to keep Chicago one game behind Cleveland in the AL Central and two games ahead of Houston for the final wild-card spot. Davis Martin is scheduled to start the series finale after posting a 1.13 ERA in three outings since returning from a finger-blister injury, though he has not won since June 10. Detroit, 73-82, faces elimination from postseason contention with its next loss after consecutive playoff appearances. The teams split the preceding games, including Detroit’s dramatic 11-8 comeback on Friday after trailing 8-2, when rookies Hao-Yu Lee and Kevin McGonigle helped spark a five-run eighth inning. The loss underscored Chicago’s late-season bullpen concerns, but the White Sox remain in position to challenge Cleveland for the division title with eight games left.