CHICAGO -- Today, Detroit Tigers left-hander Adam Wilk will make his first major league start.

He also will be able to replace the normal post-game text message exchange he has with his mother with an actual face-to-face chat.

The game today against the Chicago White Sox will be the first time Wilk's mother, Deborah Wilk, will see him pitch professionally.

"She generally texts me," Wilk said of their post-game routine. "She used to always call me and I would never call her back, whether it was good or bad.

"I can't sit like this for hours," Wilk said, holding his hand by his ear. "Moms always want to talk forever. She learned to text a lot better. She texts me after, and I'll respond to her that way."

Wilk said his mother teaches summer school, which has prevented her seeing him pitch since the final outing of his collegiate career at Long Beach State University. She attended Tigers games in Los Angeles and Anaheim when Wilk was with the Tigers last season, but he did not appear in any of those games.

He said his mother will be nervous, but Wilk seemed extremely relaxed while discussing his first start Friday morning in the visitors' clubhouse at U.S. Cellular Field. He had a 5.40 ERA in five appearances with the Tigers out of the bullpen in 2011, and he said he will draw from that experience when he takes the mound Saturday.

"I think everybody goes through it when they first come up," Wilk said. "They've been trying to become a major league player their whole life, and it's hard to calm those nerves for anybody. ... It's natural for anybody to have those feelings, but I can look back and say, 'Yeah, I was a little nervous there.' You have to be honest with yourself, and I was. That will help me prepare for this one."

During spring training, Wilk was involved in the competition to be the fifth starter for the Tigers, who eventually settled on Drew Smyly. Wilk made one start for Triple-A Toledo before the Tigers told him he would start in place of Doug Fister (left costochondral strain).

Wilk allowed one hit and one walk while striking out six in five shutout innings in that outing, which took place on April 6 in the season opener for the Mud Hens. He threw his normal bullpen session Sunday and then another one Wednesday to prepare for his start for the Tigers.

Wilk almost learned about his first start with the Tigers from an unconventional source. He said he received a text message that Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin wanted to speak with him, but he didn't receive it until about an hour after Nevin sent it.

After Wilk spoke to Nevin and found out he would be starting for the Tigers, he got online and found out that the news of his start was actually on Twitter about 15 minutes before he found out.

"If I was on Twitter, I would have seen it before I actually even knew," Wilk said. "It was kind of weird. It was pretty funny."