(Reuters) - The Chicago White Sox scored a pair of runs thanks to some hard-edged baserunning by Alex Rios to beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Monday and increase their American League Central lead to three games.
The win improved the White Sox to 80-66 and dropped the second-place Tigers to 77-69 with 16 games left in the 2012 Major League Baseball season.
Playing a make-up date for a game rained out last week, the Tigers led 4-3 going into the bottom of the fifth inning.
Chicago loaded the bases on a single by Adam Dunn, a double by Paul Konerko and a walk to Rios, and after a lineout by A.J. Pierzynski, Dayan Viciedo hit a one-out grounder to short that looked destined to become an inning-ending double play.
Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta fielded it and flipped to Omar Infante covering second, but the speedy Rios got a great break off first and slid hard into Infante, who bounced his throw past first baseman Prince Fielder allowing two runs to score that put Chicago ahead.
It was the second time the White Sox had answered the Tigers with a quick comeback.
Detroit jumped to a 3-0 lead in the third inning on a run-scoring single by Austin Jackson and a two-run by Delmon Young off Chicago left-hander Jose Quintana.
The White Sox responded in the fourth with three runs after loading the bases with one out. Detroit starter Doug Fister hit Gordon Beckham with a pitch to force one run in and Dwyane Wise singled to right to drive in two more to tie it 3-3.
Another RBI-single by Young drove in Miguel Cabrera in the fifth to make it 4-3 Tigers before Infante's error after the hard slide by Rios swung the game back in Chicago's favor.
Chicago rookie manager Robin Ventura used three pitchers in the ninth and Brett Myers, Matt Thornton and Addison Reed retired Detroit in order.
Reliever Nate Jones (8-0) got the win, and Fister (9-9) took the loss, while Reed registered his 27th save.
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York, Editing by Frank Pingue)
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