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The Chicago White Sox have 13 games remaining against Detroit this season, and you can bet Gavin Floyd would like to start the bulk of them.

Floyd flirted with a no-hitter through 7 1/3 innings Saturday afternoon and settled for a one-hit gem in his team's 7-0 blanking of the visiting Tigers.

White Sox starter Gavin Floyd is 2-0 with a 1.71 earned-run average in four starts against Detroit since last September.
(Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)

The right-hander held Detroit hitless until shortstop Edgar Renteria singled with one out in the eighth inning. That spelled the end of Floyd, who was replaced by Scott Linebrink after throwing 107 pitches.

Floyd is now 2-0 with a 1.71 earned-run average in four starts against Detroit since last September. He is 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against other teams in that span.

The former Philadelphia Phillie has yielded one run or less in four of his past five matchups against the Tigers.

In Chicago's season opener on April 5, Floyd worked six strong innings and limited the Tigers to three runs on six hits while throwing 53 of his 87 pitches for strikes.

Prior to Saturday, the 25-year-old had not fared well at U.S. Cellular Field during his brief major league career. Floyd was winless in eight previous games (five starts) in his home park with a 6.55 ERA in 34 1/3 innings.

Floyd set down Detroit in order in the second, fifth, sixth and seventh innings and struck out Jacque Jones to open the eighth before the right-handed hitting Renteria took a 1-1 fastball the opposite way.

Floyd outperformed Tigers righty Justin Verlander, fanning four and walking four batters for his second win of the season to improve his career mark to 10-10.

Verlander took the loss to drop to 0-2 on the season and is winless in his past six appearances against the White Sox with an ERA over 6.00.

Orlando Cabrera provided the game's only run through seven innings when he took a Verlander changeup over the left-field fence with two out in the third.

In the eighth, Verlander beaned Cabrera in the helmet and Chicago went on to score six more runs.

After falling to the ground when the ball hit him near the left ear flap, Cabrera got to his feet and stayed in the game. Jim Thome singled to load the bases and Verlander hit Paul Konerko with another pitch to force in a run. One out later, A.J. Pierzynski delivered a two-run single to finish Verlander.

Linebrink relieved and got Ivan Rodriguez to hit into an inning-ending double play. The White Sox turned three double plays in dropping Detroit to 2-9, the worst record in the majors.

Reliever Bobby Jenks allowed an infield single in the ninth for Detroit's only other hit.

With the win, Chicago (6-4) moved into a first-place tie in the American League Central division with Kansas City.

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