DETROIT - Among Josh Phegley's distinctions is that he says he was the first to catch Chris Sale after Sale signed a $1.65 million bonus with the White Sox in June 2010.

Since then, Sale has developed into one of the top pitchers in the American League, thanks to a wicked delivery that complements his effective array of pitches.

The task of handling Sale during his final start before the All-Star Game on Thursday against the Tigers likely will be assigned to Phegley, who admittedly hasn't caught Sale that much since their brief days at Class-A Winston-Salem three years ago.

"I kind of know the general action on most of his pitches, but I still have to get used to it very quickly," Phegley said.

Phegley said the only left-handed pitcher who might compare to Sale in terms of a three-quarters delivery is former Indiana University teammate Matt Bashore, a first-round pick of the Twins in 2009.

"I've heard (Sale) throws his fastball to both sides of the plate," Phegley said. "With the stuff he has, he can miss his spot and still be OK. So it still keeps a lot of pressure off me from really trying to be precise on what the location is. It's going to be exciting to catch a guy like that with that kind of stuff. We'll see how it goes."

Redemption for Rios: Right fielder Alex Rios said his franchise and American League record-tying performance of six hits Tuesday night hasn't sunk in, but he did seem optimistic that his fortunes would turn for the better.

"I feel like I'm being a little more aggressive under control, and hopefully I can bring back that consistency I had earlier this year," said Rios, who raised his batting average from .267 to .281 with those six hits.

According to Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN Stats and Info, Rios became the first player to have six hits in a game since Adrian Gonzalez (then with the Padres) had six against the Brewers on Aug. 11, 2009, and he was the first player since at least 1900 to have five singles and one triple in a nine-inning game.

"I've put quality at-bats up to this point, but the results haven't been the greatest," Rios said. "I've been hitting deeper into the counts, and I really like that. I like hitting deep into the counts. But when things aren't going right, the results aren't going to be there.

"I've been taking quality at-bats until recently when I started being a little more aggressive and swinging at first pitches and earlier in the count. You force yourself to do it to see if you can get yourself going again."

Extra innings: The Sox's 23 hits Tuesday were the most in the majors since the Rockies had 25 against Houston on Sept. 25, 2011. ... The Sox snapped a five-game losing streak against Justin Verlander, who are 2-12 in the last 14 games he started against them. In his first 14 career starts against them, the Sox went 11-3.