By Steve Keating
DETROIT, Michigan (Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers might regret letting Edwin Jackson leave town after the right hander helped the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 win on Wednesday, pushing his former team a little further out of the post-season picture.
Jackson (7-10), who was a cornerstone of the Tigers' rotation last year going 13-9, has now beaten Detroit twice with two different teams this season. He also tossed a no-hitter in June against Tampa Bay.
Jackson, acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks last month, allowed one run on nine hits over seven-plus innings but was helped by home runs from Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko to earn a victory in his White Sox debut.
"My job isn't to impress," Jackson told reporters. "The guys here know what I'm capable of or they wouldn't trade for you. It's just a matter of going out and executing.
"We are in a pennant race and that's the key, win as many games as you can. Don't worry about which teams you need to beat, just go out and win all of them."
The White Sox will not be as worried about Detroit as much as they were a month ago. Before the game on Wednesday, the Tigers were 5-15 since the All-Star break and the loss means they are now eight games behind the Central division leading White Sox -- the biggest deficit they have faced this season.
Jackson, however, found no special pleasure in making Detroit's road to the playoffs steeper.
"No more satisfaction than I get in winning a game period, regardless of who it is," said Jackson.
"It definitely wasn't easy, it was just getting out of big innings and damage control.
"Just attacking the strike zone and making pitches, just play the odds and let the defense do the job behind me."
Nursing a 1-0 lead courtesy of a first inning Konerko RBI single, the White Sox took control in the fourth when Quentin slammed a two-run homer into the left field bleachers.
Konerko added a solo shot in the sixth for his 27th home run of the season.
Detroit's Brandon Inge, sidelined since July 20 with a broken bone in his left hand, returned from the disabled list to drive in Detroit's only run in the eighth.
"Quentin is not very far away from being very, very dangerous," said Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen.
"A couple more days this kid can go back to the way he was. He doesn't need to much to click."
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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