CHICAGO _ He was up to the task once again.
Justin Upton hit a two-out, three-run home run in the top of the 11th to break a 2-2 tie. The Detroit Tigers went on to beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3, on tonight at U.S. Cellular Field.
Upton hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning in Sunday's 5-4 win against the Royals in Kansas City, Mo.
He has eight home runs over his last 14 games.
Ex-Tiger Avisail Garcia hit a two-out RBI single off Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez in the 11th.
Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander each reached milestones early in the game.
Cabrera hit a pair of solo home runs and finished 4-for-5, grounding into a double play in the 11th. White Sox righty Chris Beck then gave up back-to-back walks to Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez. Ian Kinsler came in to pinch run for Victor Martinez at second base before Upton's latest heroics.
Cabrera hit his 30th home run of the season and 300th as a Tiger in the first inning off White Sox lefty Chris Sale. Cabrera added his second home run in the third inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Verlander eclipsed the 200-strikeout plateau for the sixth time in his career. He struck out 11 and allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings. He walked one. He struck out a career-high 269 batters in 2009, the first of five consecutive seasons with 200 strikeouts or more.
Ex-Tiger Alex Avila, who struck out in his first two at-bats, hit a game-tying home run off Verlander in the seventh inning.
Verlander had given up a leadoff double to ex-Tiger Avisail Garcia, then an RBI single to Tyler Saladino in to the third inning.
He got out of a jam in the seventh, after giving up the game-tying home run. The White Sox had runners on first and third with two outs with Melky Cabrera due up.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus had Bruce Rondon and Kyle Ryan up in the bullpen. Ausmus came out to check on Verlander, but left him. Cabrera struck out swinging at a 96 m.p.h. fastball to become Verlander's 11th strikeout victim.
It was Cabrera who struck out swinging at a 95 mph fastball in the first inning to become Verlander's 200th strikeout this season.
It was the sixth time this season Verlander had finished with double-digit strikeouts in a start.
Cabrera has 439 career home runs, tying him with Adrian Beltre and Paul Konerko for 42nd in MLB history. He has 58 career multi-home run games, including five this season.
Cabrera entered the game 10-for-42 lifetime against Sale and went 4-for-4 against him. Cabrera had a single and advanced to second in a throwing error by center fielder Adam Eaton with two outs in the eighth inning, with the game tied, 2-2. White Sox manager Robin Ventura left Sale in to face Martinez, who grounded out to second. Martinez came into the game batting .452 lifetime against Sale (19-for-42, four home runs).
The Tigers didn't reveal their lineup until after batting practice.
The game marked the return of Cameron Maybin, who missed the previous four games with a sore left thumb. Maybin started in center and batted leadoff. He went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts, although he was robbed of a home run in the first inning by Cabrera on a leaping catch at the left field fence.
Kinsler didn't start at second due to a finger injury he suffered on Sunday.
