CHICAGO _ The buck stopped here.
With the Tigers struggling to hit much of anything Saturday afternoon, losing the opener of a straight doubleheader in missed-opportunity fashion, in stepped right-hander Buck Farmer.
And the well-traveled Farmer, who was shuttled between the Tigers and Triple-A Toledo last season, used in starting and relieving roles, did not disappoint. In fact, he might have made a case to stick around for a little while.
Farmer threw the best game of his career, blanking the White Sox over six-plus innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts for his first major league victory. It was a much-needed one for the Tigers, who have struggled as of late. They won, 4-3, barely.
Closer Justin Wilson allowed three runs on four hits in the ninth inning.
The Tigers' offense pieced together a good enough game, scoring four runs on 11 hits despite leaving 12 men on base.
John Hicks opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning.
They added a run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez and another on a wild pitch when Justin Upton struck out. Victor Martinez hit his fourth home run of the season in the ninth inning, which proved to be the winning run.
The star of the day, though, was Farmer. Armed with an improved slider, he didn't as much as fall into trouble. He threw 61/3 innings, allowing three hits. He walked two and struck out 11.
It was the second double-digit strikeout performance by a Tiger this season, the first since Justin Verlander struck out 10 in the season opener here at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 4.
Farmer's previous career-high in strikeouts was seven.
He gave way to Shane Greene to finish the seventh and Alex Wilson to do the same in the eighth.
In the ninth, the big hit was a two-run triple by Yonder Sanchez. But Justin Wilson left the tying run on third base by striking out Todd Frazier and Adam Engel.
With the win, the Tigers are three games below .500 (23-26).
