Adam Dunn hit another homer in the first inning _ and that was it for Chicago’s offense.

Despite holding Detroit to 10 runs in the series, the White Sox ended up losing two of three to the defending AL Central champions.

Prince Fielder homered and Rick Porcello pitched impressively into the seventh inning to lead the Tigers to a 3-1 victory Sunday. Fielder’s 432-foot shot to right-center _ his fourth of the year _ broke a 1-all tie in the third.

“We played neck and neck all weekend, but we couldn’t get the one big hit we needed today to win this game and win the series,” Dunn said. “That’s frustrating, because we had so many opportunities, but Porcello was really good.”

Porcello (3-2) allowed a run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings. Four relievers finished for the Tigers, with Jose Valverde pitching the ninth for his fifth save.

Dylan Axelrod (0-1) allowed two runs and six hits in 4 1-3 innings.

The first two games of the series were won on two-run homers in the ninth inning _ by Detroit’s Jhonny Peralta on Friday night and Dunn on Saturday. The Tigers took the opener 5-4 before Chicago won the middle game 3-2.

All the runs in the finale came via the long ball, but Valverde held onto the lead this time after allowing Dunn’s homer a day earlier. Valverde gave up a hit and a walk Sunday but struck out Gordon Beckham to end it.

The 26-year-old Axelrod made his first start of the season for the White Sox, part of a pitching shuffle that moved Chris Sale from starter to closer.

With a doubleheader coming up Monday at Cleveland, Chicago optioned Axelrod to Triple-A Charlotte after the game. Left-hander Eric Stults will come up from the minors to start the second game Monday, and the White Sox are also expected to add a reliever.

Axelrod struck out four and walked two.

“He pitched his guts out today,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “We’re trying to figure out how to fill that hole in the rotation, and today was a good step for him. He made a couple mistakes against a very good offense, but he battled through a lot of things and gave us a chance to win the game.”

Dunn’s solo shot in the first was his ninth homer of the season, but Austin Jackson led off the bottom half with his fourth homer of the year.

Andy Dirks added a home run for Detroit in the eighth.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland altered his lineup a bit to try to boost the offense. Dirks batted second and fellow outfielder Brennan Boesch was dropped to eighth.

The Tigers had 10 hits but left 12 runners on base. Alex Avila hit into a double play with runners on first and third to end the fifth. Dirks popped out to end the sixth with runners on second and third.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Boesch hit a routine fly.

Dirks finally added an insurance run with his homer to right.

“The key today was, if we get the pitching like we got the last couple of games, I’ll be happy, because we’re going to hit at some point,” Leyland said. “We got some hits today, we just didn’t get a lot of big ones.”

Chicago outfielder Dayan Viciedo left in the seventh after being hit in the right elbow with a pitch. X-rays were negative and he is day to day.

NOTES: Detroit optioned RHP Brayan Villarreal to Triple-A Toledo to make room for RHP Doug Fister (0-0), who will return from a left side strain Monday night and start at Seattle against Blake Beavan (1-3). … Stults (0-0) will face Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin (1-2) on Monday. Chicago RHP Phil Humber (1-1) takes on Zach McAllister (0-0) in the opener of the doubleheader. … Dunn’s homer was his 374th, tying Rocky Colavito for 69th on the career list. … Leyland won his 1,602nd game, tying Fred Clarke for 16th.

DETROIT (AP) — Tigers manager Jim Leyland altered the lineup a bit, hoping to boost his team’s offense.

Turned out Detroit didn’t need too many runs with Rick Porcello on the mound.

Porcello pitched impressively into the seventh inning and Detroit beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Sunday. The Tigers left 12 runners on base, but solo homers by Austin Jackson, Prince Fielder and Andy Dirks provided all the scoring they needed.

“I felt like the ball’s been coming out of my hand good as far as my fastball having life and that sort of thing,” Porcello said. “I think just trying to slow everything down has been the main thing that I continue to keep working on.”

Fielder’s 432-foot shot to right-center — his fourth homer of the year — broke a 1-all tie in the third. Jackson homered for the Tigers in the first after Adam Dunn gave Chicago an early lead with a solo shot in the top half.

Dirks batted second and fellow outfielder Brennan Boesch was dropped to eighth. The Tigers had 10 hits but could never quite break the game open. Alex Avila hit into a double play with runners on first and third to end the fifth. Dirks popped out to end the sixth with runners on second and third.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Boesch hit a routine fly. “It’s good to get a lot of runners on base,” Dirks said. “We didn’t quite get the hit when we needed it today, but we’re coming around.”

Dirks finally added an insurance run with his homer to right in the eighth.

Porcello (3-2) allowed a run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings. Four relievers finished for the Tigers, with Jose Valverde pitching the ninth for his fifth save.

The Tigers were held to three or fewer runs for the fourth time in six games.

“The key today was, if we get the pitching like we got the last couple of games, I’ll be happy, because we’re going to hit at some point,” Leyland said. “We got some hits today, we just didn’t get a lot of big ones.”

Dylan Axelrod (0-1) allowed two runs and six hits in 4 1-3 innings. The 26-year-old made his first start of the season for the White Sox, part of a pitching shuffle that moved Chris Sale from starter to closer.

With a doubleheader coming up Monday at Cleveland, Chicago optioned Axelrod to Triple-A Charlotte after the game. Left-hander Eric Stults will come up from the minors to start the second game Monday, and the White Sox are also expected to add a reliever.

Axelrod struck out four and walked two.

“He pitched his guts out today,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “We’re trying to figure out how to fill that hole in the rotation, and today was a good step for him. He made a couple mistakes against a very good offense, but he battled through a lot of things and gave us a chance to win the game.”

The first two games of this series were won on two-run homers in the ninth inning — by Detroit’s Jhonny Peralta on Friday night and Dunn on Saturday. All the runs in the finale came via the long ball, but Valverde held onto the lead this time after allowing Dunn’s homer a day earlier.

Valverde gave up a hit and a walk but struck out Gordon Beckham to end it. Dunn’s solo shot in the first was his ninth homer of the season, but that was all the scoring for the White Sox. Porcello struck out five and walked two.

Jackson led off the bottom of the first with his fourth homer of the year.

Chicago outfielder Dayan Viciedo left in the seventh after being hit in the right elbow with a pitch. X-rays were negative and he is day to day.

NOTES: Detroit optioned RHP Brayan Villarreal to Triple-A Toledo to make room for RHP Doug Fister (0-0), who will return from a left side strain Monday night and start at Seattle against Blake Beavan (1-3) of the Mariners. … Stults (0-0) will face Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin (1-2) on Monday. Chicago RHP Phil Humber (1-1) takes on Zach McAllister (0-0) in the opener of the doubleheader. … Dunn’s homer was his 374th, tying Rocky Colavito for 69th on the career list. … Leyland won his 1,602nd game, tying Fred Clarke for 16th.

April saw a three-way race between the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers for first place in the AL Central race.

While Detroit looks to shake off the rust from a slow start and take command of the division, the race for who will keep pace with the Tigers begins. May will be very telling as the Indians and White Sox go head to head a total of 10 times during the month.

Here is a game by game look at the Indians’ May schedule (All Times EDT):

May 1

Indians at Chicago White Sox: 8:10pm (TV: STO, WCIU)

May 2

Indians at Chicago White Sox: 8:10pm (TV: STO, CSN)

May 3

Indians at Chicago White Sox: 8:10pm (TV: STO, WCIU)

May 4

Texas Rangers at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: KTXA, STO)

May 5

Texas Rangers at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: FSH)

May 6

Texas Rangers at Cleveland: 1:05pm (TV: FSH, STO)

May 7

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland: 1:05pm & 7:05pm (Two Games) (TV: TBD)

May 8

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: CSN, STO)

May 9

Chicago White Sox at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: CSN, STO)

May 10

Indians at Boston Red Sox: 7:10pm (TV: STO, NESN)

May 11

Indians at Boston Red Sox: 7:10pm (TV: STO, NESN)

May 12

Indians at Boston Red Sox: 7:10pm (TV: STO, NESN)

May 13

Indians at Boston Red Sox: 1:35pm (TV: STO, NESN)

May 14

Indians at Minnesota Twins: 8:10pm (TV: STO, FSNO)

May 15

Indians at Minnesota Twins: 8:10pm (TV: STO, FSNO)

May 16

Seattle Mariners at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: ROOT, STO)

May 17

Seattle Mariners at Cleveland: 12:05pm (TV: ROOT, STO)

May 18

Miami Marlins at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: FSFL, STO)

May 19

Miami Marlins at Cleveland: 4:05pm (TV: FSFL, STO)

May 20

Miami Marlins at Cleveland: 1:05pm (TV: FSFL, STO)

May 21

Open

May 22

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: FSD, STO)

May 23

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: FSD, STO)

May 24

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland: 12:05pm (TV: FSD)

May 25

Indians at Chicago White Sox: 8:10pm (TV: STO, CSN)

May 26

Indians at Chicago White Sox: 4:10pm (TV: STO, WGN)

May 27

Indians at Chicago White Sox: 2:10pm (TV: STO, CSN)

May 28

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland: 4:05pm (TV: FSKC, STO)

May 29

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland: 7:05pm (TV: FSKC, STO)

May 30

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland: 12:05pm (TV: TBD)

May 31

Open

Gerald Laird homered among his three hits to back a strong outing by Rick Porcello and lead the Detroit Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the White Sox on Sunday, snapping Chicago’s four-game winning streak.

Porcello (1-0) was sharp against an aggressive Chicago lineup. He allowed five hits, struck out four and didn’t issue a walk in 7 2-3 innings.

Laird homered to left against Chris Sale (1-1) leading off the third. Detroit added single runs in the fifth and sixth, both runs scoring on wild pitches, and two in the ninth.

The White Sox brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Jose Valverde struck out Dayan Viciedo to end the game.

Sale breezed through the first but struggled to command his off-speed pitches after that, racking up 102 pitches in five-plus innings. He struck out five and walked two, managing to keep the damage to a minimum.

Prince Fielder doubled, scored and drove in a run for Detroit. Delmon Young added two hits and is batting .350 over 243 lifetime at-bats against the White Sox.

Laird hit a wind-aided double in the fifth, then singled and scored in the ninth, in addition to his first home run of the season.

Viciedo hit his second homer for Chicago, a solo shot in the eighth. A.J. Pierzynski singled in a run in the ninth.

Eduardo Escobar singled to chase Porcello in the eighth. Reliever Joaquin Benoit then walked Alejandro De Aza before striking Brent Morel to end the threat. Morel chased a pitch in the dirt on a full count.

Adam Dunn doubled twice for Chicago. Paul Konerko doubled against Porcello and improved to 8 for 20 lifetime against the righty, who racked up 12 of his 23 outs on groundballs.

Jhonny Peralta scored on Sale’s wild pitch in the fifth and Fielder came home on reliever Nate Jones’ wild pitch an inning later.

The Tigers tacked on two runs against the Chicago bullpen in the ninth, on RBI singles by Ramon Santiago and Fielder.

Detroit salvaged the last game of the three-game weekend series, winning for the 22nd time in 30 games against the White Sox. The Tigers have won 12 of their last 18 at U.S. Cellular Field.

After scoring 40 runs while winning five of their first six games, the Tigers scored just three runs in dropping the first two games of this series.

NOTES: Konerko has a hit in all eight of Chicago’s games this season. . Tigers outfielder Clete Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Thomas made Detroit’s opening-day roster and played in three games before being designated for assignment last week. . Brandon Inge (left groin strain) got his first start of the season as Detroit’s designated hitter. He is expected to get regular duty at second base this season, which is not one of the five positions he’s played thus far during his 12-year big league career.

CHICAGO — Gerald Laird homered among his three hits to back a strong outing by Rick Porcello and lead the Detroit Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the White Sox on Sunday, snapping Chicago’s four-game winning streak.

Porcello (1-0) was sharp against an aggressive Chicago lineup. He allowed five hits, struck out four and didn’t issue a walk in 7 2-3 innings.

Laird homered to left against Chris Sale (1-1) leading off the third. Detroit added single runs in the fifth and sixth, both runs scoring on wild pitches, and two in the ninth.

The White Sox brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Jose Valverde struck out Dayan Viciedo to end the game.

Sale breezed through the first but struggled to command his off-speed pitches after that, racking up 102 pitches in five-plus innings. He struck out five and walked two, managing to keep the damage to a minimum.

Prince Fielder doubled, scored and drove in a run for Detroit.

Delmon Young added two hits and is batting .350 over 243 lifetime at-bats against the White Sox.

Laird hit a wind-aided double in the fifth, then singled and scored in the ninth, in addition to his first home run of the season.
Viciedo hit his second homer for Chicago, a solo shot in the eighth. A.J. Pierzynski singled in a run in the ninth.

Eduardo Escobar singled to chase Porcello in the eighth.

Reliever Joaquin Benoit then walked Alejandro De Aza before striking Brent Morel to end the threat. Morel chased a pitch in the dirt on a full count.

Adam Dunn doubled twice for Chicago. Paul Konerko doubled against Porcello and improved to 8 for 20 lifetime against the righty, who racked up 12 of his 23 outs on groundballs.

Jhonny Peralta scored on Sale’s wild pitch in the fifth and Fielder came home on reliever Nate Jones’ wild pitch an inning later.

The Tigers tacked on two runs against the Chicago bullpen in the ninth, on RBI singles by Ramon Santiago and Fielder.

Detroit salvaged the last game of the three-game weekend series, winning for the 22nd time in 30 games against the White Sox. The Tigers have won 12 of their last 18 at U.S. Cellular Field.

After scoring 40 runs while winning five of their first six games, the Tigers scored just three runs in dropping the first two games of this series.

NOTES: Konerko has a hit in all eight of Chicago’s games this season. . Tigers outfielder Clete Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Thomas made Detroit’s opening-day roster and played in three games before being designated for assignment last week. . Brandon Inge (left groin strain) got his first start of the season as Detroit’s designated hitter. He is expected to get regular duty at second base this season, which is not one of the five positions he’s played thus far during his 12-year big league career.

(Sports Network) – Chris Sale will make his second career start and aim to give the Chicago White Sox a fifth straight victory and a sweep of their weekend series against the Detroit Tigers.

Sale posted a 4-2 victory at Cleveland on Monday when he allowed three hits and a run over 6 2/3 innings. The lefty, who had 79 appearances in relief to start his major league career, will try to cap Chicago’s first home sweep of the Tigers since Aug. 11-13, 2006.

Detroit righty Rick Porcello didn’t get a decision in his first start of 2012 on Tuesday vs. Tampa Bay. Porcello gave up seven hits and a pair of runs over seven frames of Detroit’s 5-2 victory. He’s 2-4 with an inflated 6.91 ERA in seven games vs. the White Sox.

On Saturday, Tyler Flowers, Alexei Ramirez and Paul Konerko hit solo homers and Gavin Floyd pitched six scoreless innings, as the White Sox took a 5-1 win. Alejandro De Aza and Adam Dunn each knocked in a run for the White Sox, who have won four in a row to improve to 5-2 on the young season.

Floyd (1-1) gave up just three hits to go with six strikeouts and three walks. He improved to 7-2 in 18 career starts against Detroit.

“I like the feel of the team and the way they come everyday prepared to play,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said.

Brennan Boesch hit a solo home run for the Tigers, who have lost three of four since starting the year 4-0.

Adam Wilk (0-1), filling in for an injured Doug Fister, allowed two runs on three hits in his first career start. But Wilk left the game with an injury after a Prince Fielder foul ball hit him in the dugout during the top of the sixth inning.

“I had no idea it was coming,” Wilk said. “There was a group of players on the railing and I didn’t see it coming at all. The first thing I knew it just hit me.”

Detroit was 13-5 against the White Sox a year ago with six of those wins coming in the Windy City.

On this the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier Major League Baseball is commemorating this special occasion by having all players and on-field personnel once again wear the Hall of Famer’s No. 42, as well as other pregame festivities.

CHICAGO — Jake Peavy pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Dayan Viciedo homered and made a key catch Friday as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-2 in their home opener.

Peavy (1-0) took a one-hitter and a 3-0 lead into the seventh. He walked Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young’s two-out, two-run homer finished him.

Alex Avila singled off reliever Will Ohman and Jhonny Peralta followed with a double against Addison Reed before Viciedo made a diving catch of Andy Dirks’ sinking liner to left field to end the inning.

In the eighth, Chicago shortstop Alexei Ramirez made a nice stop and shovel to second, starting an inning-ending double play after the Tigers had runners at first and third.

Viciedo hit his first homer with two outs in the fifth to break up a scoreless duel between Peavy and Max Scherzer (0-1). Paul Konerko had an RBI single with two outs in the sixth and then just barely beat the throw home to score on A.J. Pierzynski’s triple into the right-field corner, making it 3-0.

Brent Morel hit an RBI single for Chicago in the eighth after Young misplayed Alejandro De Aza’s fly ball into triple. Morel eventually scored on a wild pitch by Brayan Villarreal.

Hector Santiago pitched the ninth for his third save in as many chances.

Peavy, whose stint with Chicago has been since slowed by injuries since coming to the White Sox in a trade with San Diego late in the 2009 season, allowed only two hits. He struck out eight and walked one in 6 2-3 innings.

Peavy retired the first 10 batters before Brennan Boesch singled sharply to right with one in the fourth.

Scherzer (0-1), who gave up eight hits and seven runs in just 2 2-3 innings in his first start this season against the Red Sox, was much more effective in his second outing.

Scherzer struck out 11, walked one and allowed five hits and three runs in six innings.

NOTES: The teams combined to strike out 25 times — 15 by White Sox batters,  including four by Adam Dunn. … Robin Ventura became the sixth straight White Sox manager to win his debut at U.S. Cellular Field. He and Konerko got loud ovations during introductions. “You feel like you grew up here, so in a lot of ways, it’s coming home,” said the low-key Ventura, who spent a decade as Chicago’s third baseman. Konerko said the communication from Ventura has been good early in the season. “Robin doesn’t say a whole bunch so when he does you know he means it and you pay attention to it.” … The game was delayed nearly 10 minutes in the top of the first when Tigers star Miguel Cabrera pointed out that the batter’s box wasn’t the right size. The grounds crew wiped out the original and created another box with a frame that had to be brought in from center field. … The announced sellout crowd was 38,676. … Tigers INF Brandon Inge could rejoin the club Saturday after an injury rehab (groin) rehab for Triple-A Toledo. …  Adam Wilk (0-0) goes for Detroit on Saturday against Gavin Floyd (0-1). …… Former major league pitcher Kevin Hickey, who was a batting practice pitcher and pregame instructor with the White Sox, remains hospitalized in Texas undergoing tests. He was taken to the hospital the day before the White Sox’s season opener against the Rangers on April 6.