Pregame notes: Hangover lineup

DETROIT -- There's always a morning after.

It's actually not that much of a hangover lineup for the Tigers, who can still play their way into facing the Baltimore Orioles rather than the Houston Astros by staying ahead of the Royals in the Wild Card standings. Combined, the Tigers and Royals are 22-2 against the White Sox, so they know where to send their holiday cards.

Detroit went and pulled Kerry Carpenter off the bench for this one after sitting him for what would have been a lefty-lefty matchup against Garrett Crochet on Friday night. The Tigers might be hung over, but being able to slide in a hitter who has played only 85 games, but would be fourth on the White Sox in home runs is not exactly working with one hand behind their back. In fairness to the Sox, Carpenter is actually second on the Tigers in home runs.

Riley Greene's 24 homers paces Detroit, whereas Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn are both still sitting one away from the 20-homer barrier.

Luis Robert Jr. probably won't be hitting that benchmark, as he's both stuck on 14 homers and has been uncharacteristically vulnerable against fastballs, while also missing his second-straight game with rib discomfort.

"He said he could play, but I wanted to give him an extra day," said Grady Sizemore. "With the quick turnaround today I didn’t want to push it because I know he didn’t do much baseball activity yesterday. He came in today saying he was good."

Sizemore is a formal candidate for the White Sox managerial opening, so he's all-in on remaining with the team for next year at the moment.

"I'm not really thinking past this season," Sizemore said. "And next season I'm only thinking about being here. I haven't thought about exploring other options. I'm committed to the team. I want to come back and just be a part of the turnaround. I think it's been a tough year but I have enjoyed my time here and I've enjoyed working with the guys. I'm not ready to just move on from the team and the organization. I want to do everything I can. Whatever role that is, I want to be part of this being turned around."

Miguel Vargas praised Justin Jirschele for helping his work at third base, but admitted it's been tough to re-adjust to the speed of the infield after the Dodgers spent much of this season preparing him to play the outfield more.

"It's been a little bit tough but I think feel good there right now," Vargas said. "I'm going to be working on that through the offseason and will be ready to be the best version of myself."

It's currently raining in Detroit. This game won't start on time. There haven't been many details provided beyond that.

First pitch: White Sox at Tigers

TV: NBCSCH, MLB Network (out-of-market)