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Peavy fans five over seven strong innings

After losing two out of three games to both Seattle and Oakland on the road and dropping Monday's series opener to the White Sox, Tigers' manager Jim Leyland is ready for his team to start winning.

The losses came at an unfortunate time for the second-place Tigers, as the team ahead of them, the Indians, struggled over the weekend at Boston.

"I'm pretty positive about it, I think we're OK. It's not like we're 15 games out of first place," Leyland said before Monday's 7-5 loss in Chicago. "We really haven't hit and we're still knocking on the door. On the other side of the door, can you sit there and say it'll automatically happen? No, you can't. You keep working and keep reminding the guys and get them out there hitting extra and doing things so we can hopefully get this thing rolling. I'm real positive about this team."

Taking the mound for the Tigers on Tuesday in the finale of the two-game set in Chicago will be right-hander Max Scherzer. After a rough first month of the season, Scherzer has bounced back nicely. He has recorded nine strikeouts in back-to-back starts to begin the month of May, and a solid outing could not come at a better time as the Tigers' offense continues to struggle.

The right-hander got the start against the White Sox on April 13 and struck out 11, but was handed the loss.

While many are hung up on the Tigers not scoring runs as expected, all Leyland cares about is winning games.

"All I think about is winning, that's it," Leyland said. "That's all. That's the only solution. That's the only thing that makes people happy, including me. That's what we do for a living and that's what makes you happy. You have enough common sense to know you're not going to win all the time, know you're going to have good streaks, bad streaks, slumps, not slumps."

While the Tigers (17-18) are two games behind the Indians, the White Sox are surprising many with a 17-19 record, despite having a rookie manager and going forward with younger players after losing several veterans during the offseason.

Jake Peavy has been one of the bright spots for the White Sox. The right-hander has been dominant so far this season. His American League-leading 1.89 ERA and 44-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio has pumped life into a team that needs strong pitching to survive.

The White Sox are hitting just .240 on the season and lost two out of three to the Royals at home over the weekend.

Peavy took the mound in an 8-1 White Sox win over Cleveland on Wednesday, pitching seven innings and wasn't scored on until his final frame. Following the pivotal win, Peavy gave credit to the offense for giving him the confidence to dominate through seven innings.

"They swung the bats," Peavy said. "It's big when you get runs early. You come out being aggressive when you get those first two and then they put a lot on the board and you try to throw strikes."

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