Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers

It’s just like any other series the White Sox have won. Those words came from designated hitter Andrew Benintendi following a 4-3 victory over the Tigers on Saturday at Comerica Park. But beating their American League Central rival, on the road, can’t be like any other one, can it? Detroit came into the home weekend as one of the hottest teams in the AL, positioned to really push the White Sox. The Tigers are now looking up at a 4 1/2-game deficit, while the White Sox hold a season-series edge of 5-3 and have improved to 22-13 against AL Central opponents. So, these two hard-fought wins, where the White Sox have seemed predominantly in control, have to foster extra importance for a team having lost 100-plus games in each of the past three seasons. Well, that’s just not how the White Sox operate. “I think our mindset in here is … I don’t even know,” said Benintendi with a broad smile. “It’s kind of crazy. We play 162. Wherever we end up, we end up. We are literally just focused day by day.” Benintendi sounds like a veteran who has been there, done that before in terms of the postseason push. He understands how his 64-58 squad still has 40 games left to play and so much can happen over six weeks of Major League Baseball.