DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers looked dormant with the bats until a pitch from Chicagos Chris Sale hit Victor Martinez around the back of his left shoulder. Then tempers flared, the benches and bullpens emptied -- and Sales shutout didnt last much longer. Martinez came around to score the tying run in the sixth inning, and after Sale came out of the game, Chicagos bullpen was no match for the Tigers. Detroit won 6-1 on Wednesday -- and clinched a spot in the post-season when Seattle lost to Toronto. The worst the Tigers can end up with now is a wild card. Detroit is trying for its fourth straight AL Central crown, and the Tigers took a two-game lead over second-place Kansas City, which lost at Cleveland. Detroits magic number to clinch the division is three. With one out in the sixth and Chicago up 1-0, Sales first pitch to Martinez hit the Detroit slugger. Martinez walked slowly to first, and the two started jawing at each other. Sale appeared to point out toward centre field in agitated fashion as Martinez went to first. "They were claiming that someone with binoculars in centre field was giving signs to Victor," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "I think its a little weak that they would hit him. If they injure Victor there and were in the playoff hunt, thats bad news. That just cant happen. "He clearly did it on purpose. He made it obvious." Sale didnt accuse the Tigers of stealing signs afterward, and he said he wasnt specifically gesturing toward centre field. "I was just throwing my arms up, like you do when you are upset," the left-hander said. "I wasnt really trying to control where they pointed." Sale appeared to tip his hat toward the outfield in the third inning after striking out Martinez. "There was a fan that was just wearing me out in the bullpen before the game, telling me that I wasnt any good, and telling me how much Victor was going to hit me," Sale said. "So that was just having some fun with him." Justin Verlander (15-12) allowed a run in eight innings for Detroit. Sale allowed a run and four hits in six innings. He struck out 10 and walked three, becoming his franchises career leader with his 18th game of at least 10 strikeouts. Ed Walsh had 17. But Chicagos slim lead slipped away after he hit Martinez. "I think he just woke the whole team up," said Martinez, who is 15 of 29 for his career off Sale. The benches and bullpens emptied, but order was quickly restored. J.D. Martinez followed with a double and Nick Castellanos hit a sacrifice fly to tie it at 1. Ian Kinslers RBI double the following inning off Javy Guerra (2-4) put Detroit ahead, and when Kinsler reached second, he put his hands up in front of his eyes, pantomiming someone looking through binoculars. Miguel Cabrera added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Detroit scored three runs in the eighth on a well-executed squeeze play by Andrew Romine and RBI singles by Rajai Davis and Kinsler. Cabrera struck out four times, only the third time in his career thats happened and the first time since Sept. 17, 2010. QUALITY START The brouhaha involving Sale and Martinez overshadowed another fine outing by Verlander, who allowed seven hits and struck out six. Verlander (15-12) has not been at his best this year, but the former Cy Young Award winner has made it to the eighth inning in back-to-back starts. "I think I was getting ahead of guys -- good fastball control, good life on the fastball," Verlander said. AMONG THE LEADERS This was Sales last start of the season, and he finishes with a 2.17 ERA, which will almost surely be good enough to win the American League ERA title. Seattles Felix Hernandez is at 2.34. TRAINERS ROOM White Sox: After the bench-clearing incident, Sale pitched the rest of the sixth before being pulled after 101 pitches. Manager Robin Ventura was already trying to ease the left-hander into the off-season. Sale finishes the year at 174 innings after missing a month early on with a muscle strain near his left elbow. Tigers: Detroit RHP Anibal Sanchez (pectoral strain) still has not pitched since being activated from the disabled list before Tuesdays game. Hes now part of the Tigers bullpen but was not used Wednesday. UP NEXT White Sox: After losing two of three to the Tigers, Chicago has another chance to play spoiler in a four-game series against the Royals. White Sox LHP Jose Quintana (9-10) faces Kansas City RHP James Shields (14-8) on Thursday night. Tigers: Detroit hosts four games against Minnesota. Tigers RHP Max Scherzer (17-5) takes the mound against Twins RHP Trevor May (3-5) on Thursday night. Stitched Nike MLB Jerseys .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/. He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2. MLB Jerseys 2020 . With nothing tangible at stake, the Raptors turned in their most impressive outing of the fall in their seventh and second to last exhibition tilt against their stiffest competition yet, but they lost a couple starters in the process. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Rasmussen didnt have a decision during his four appearances in May, when he gave up two hits and no runs in two innings. Toronto used five relievers while pulling off the second-biggest comeback in franchise history on Friday night, rallying from an 8-0 deficit to a 14-9 win.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- A familiar face returned to the practice field for the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon suited up for his first appearance since a foot injury in Week 2 sent him to the inactive list. Weatherspoon is still not eligible to play in this weekends game against the Seattle Seahawks, though he said he feels good enough to take the field. If all goes well in practice, he could return for the Nov. 17 contest at Tampa Bay. The Falcons were 1-1 on the day Weatherspoon was hurt. They have since slumped to 2-6, going from Super Bowl contenders to a team that probably must win out to have any chance of making the playoffs. "Its been pretty tough," Weatherspoon said. "I love to play football. To take that away makes it a little bit rough. I think the guys have stepped in there and done some promising things. Weve got to build off that and try to get a win this week." Clearly, the Atlanta defence will be more imposing with Weatherspoon in the middle, calling signals and serving as the vocal leader. Actually, said safety William Moore, the entire team will be better. "Thats his role on this team -- to lead this whole football team, not just the defence," Moore said. "To have him back, I cant wait." If not for injury list rules requiring him to sit out at least eight weeks (including a bye), Weatherspoon figures he would be ready to play Sunday against the Seahawks (8-1). Still, he must show the teams training staff --- and the coaches -- that hes fully recovered.ddddddddddddConsidering the way things have gone this season for the Falcons, theres no need to bring him back before hes 100 per cent. "Ive been able to go out there and do some reaction drills," said Weatherspoon, a first-round pick of the Falcons in 2010. "Basically, Ive been able to go play football without hitting people. I feel pretty confident where we are." The 25-year-old is one of the most outspoken players on the team and a huge influence in the locker room. Defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan had to tone him down during team meetings while he was injured, because Weatherspoon kept barking out the calls during film sessions. "If Im not going to be out there on the field, it does us no good if Im doing it," he said. Now, he can start yapping again. The Falcons sure missed his voice. "No doubt about it," Moore said. "Thats going to be huge for us. Not only his play, but just his emotion, bringing all that back to the team. We missed that. We had guys who really dont talk a lot trying to step up and take his place." NOTES: DT Corey Peters did not participate in practice because of a knee injury. ... WR Roddy White (ankle, hamstring), DT Peria Jerry (toe), OT Sam Baker (knee) and LB Stephen Nicholas (thigh) were limited. The Falcons again expressed cautious optimism that White will be able to return, but they said the same thing last week before he sat out against Carolina. ' ' '