Sox drop Home finale to Rays as Tigers clinch tie for AL Central on Fielder 9th inning HR

The White Sox were on life support before this game, but now…it’s all but over. That said after downing the fading White Sox on Sunday with David Price getting his 20th win 6-2 over ther Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays still have a chance to make the postseason.Tampa Bay has played its best ball at the right time, winning 10 of 11 to stay in the race for the second wild card.The Rays go home to play the Orioles, who are tied with the Yankees for the AL East lead. And Oakland is at home against Texas to wrap up the season.The Sox chances are pretty much mission impossible. They White Sox have lost 10 of 12 and fallen three games behind Detroit with three to go. Their hope: win three straight in Cleveland and root for the Royals to sweep the Tigers in Kansas City, forcing a one-game tiebreaker Thursday.The Tigers edged the Twins in Minneapolis 2-1 on Prince Fielder’s two run ninth inning homer.

“Obviously we’re up against it now, but we’ll continue to play,” Paul Konerko said. “That’s what we do and what we’ve done all year. It doesn’t look good obviously. … You never know what can happen. The main thing is to get us in order and go win a ball game tomorrow.”

The White Sox held at least a share of the lead from July 24 until Wednesday and had not been this far back since late May. Their starting pitching has come up short and they have hit .153 (13 for 85) with runners in scoring position during the dozen-game slide.

“We didn’t play good enough. The effort was there. The work was there. Everything was there. We just didn’t get it done,” White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said.

Price (20-5) improved to 12-1 with a 2.26 ERA in his last 18 starts, allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings. He became the fourth 20-game winner of the season, joining Washington’s Gio Gonzalez (21-8), the New York Mets’ R.A. Dickey (20-6) and the Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver (20-4).

“We still have a chance to get in with a good series against Baltimore … We need a little help from Texas, but we have to continue to win and hopefully we get back in like last year,” said Price, the first 20-game winner in Tampa Bay history.

B.J. Upton his hit his 27th and 28th homers, and Tampa Bay also got a solo shot from Ryan Roberts.

“You know you pretty much have to win them all,” Upton said, sizing up the Rays’ chances.

Sox starter Jose Quintana (6-6) got in trouble before the game was barely three minutes old, giving up a leadoff triple to Desmond Jennings and Upton’s two-run homer.Roberts hit a two-out homer in the fourth made it 3-0. The White Sox rallied in the bottom half when Alex Rios delivered an RBI single and Dayan Viciedo hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.Upton’s leadoff double in the fifth finished Quintana, who allowed four runs and six hits in four innings. Evan Longoria hit an RBI double and Ben Francisco added a sacrifice fly off reliever Nate Jones to make it 5-2. Upton homered again in the ninth against Addison Reed.

NOTES—Pierzynski had his family at the game. He is eligible for free agency and this might have been his final home game in Chicago. Pierzynski, who came to the Sox in 2005, said he’d love to finish his career here but understands that might not happen. He’s had a career-best 27 homers….Rays C Jose Molina (right quadriceps strain) was out of starting lineup for fifth straight game but caught the bottom of the ninth.