Justin Verlander pitched a four-hitter for his third career complete game and Marcus Thames hit a three-run homer to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

It was Detroit’s second straight win over the A.L. Central leaders.

Verlander (3-9) didn’t walk a batter and struck out three. He threw 101 pitches in his best outing of the season.

White Sox starter Javier Vazquez (6-5) gave up five runs and 10 hits in six innings, walking three and striking out nine.

Thames’ three-run homer in the second gave Detroit a 3-0 lead. Magglio Ordonez’s two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth made it 4-1 and Carlos Guillen tripled in a run in the sixth.