AL Central Race: White Sox Take Commanding Lead; Tigers Swept; Twins Fading; Wild-Card Scramble

White Sox now lead AL Central by 5.5 games after sweeping the Tigers. White Sox promoted top prospects, added Urquidy. Tigers fell 5.5 back, now tied for final wild card; Melton's shortest start (1.71 ERA still elite), Valencia hot, and rookie Brett Callahan hit first MLB homer. Twins bought Minter, Hoffman, Kremer but are in a do-or-die stretch—4-10 in August, playoff odds below 20%, facing Braves and Padres. Guardians slipped. AL wild-card race features seven teams below .500 fighting for one spot.