The good times keep rolling for the White Sox (54-88), who have won six consecutive games. The Tigers (81-61), who comfortably lead the division, did not go down easily, but they ultimately fell short.
The South Siders did not waste any time getting to work, as they scored the game’s first run in the top of the first. With two outs and nobody on base, Curtis Mead extended the inning with a double against Detroit starter Jack Flaherty. That brought cleanup hitter Colson Montgomery to the plate, and Montgomery got a 2-2 fastball to his liking and hit a sharp grounder into center for an RBI single.
In the third, the White Sox added a run. That inning started with a double by Dominic Fletcher in his first MLB plate appearance of the year after a solid performance in 105 games for the Charlotte Knights. Two batters later, Kyle Teel drove in Fletcher with a single to right.
In the bottom of the third, All-Star pitcher Shane Smith finally ran into some trouble. Nobody reached scoring position in the first two frames against him, but Smith hit Dillon Dingler with a pitch to open the inning. The next batter, Parker Meadows, launched a two-run homer, and suddenly, the game was tied up.
The White Sox jumped back in front in the fourth, when Colson Montgomery drew a leadoff walk. After a sacrifice bunt by Chase Meidroth, Montgomery advanced to second, and with two outs, Will Robertson hit an RBI single.
The Tigers made sure that the 3-2 lead did not last long. In the bottom of the fourth, Smith retired the first two batters, but Detroit did not go away. Wenceel Pérez walked, and Zach McKinstry doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs. Then, something went horribly wrong, and Smith missed his target for a wild pitch. Teel prevented the ball from getting to the backstop, but when he blocked it, the ball popped up in the air. While the ball was in the air, Pérez and McKinstry both started advancing. Teel and Smith pursued the ball, and they collided. Both runners scored, and Detroit had the lead. This was an unusually violent collision for a baseball game, and it is very fortunate that they managed to stay in the game. Smith finished strong, pitching a scoreless fifth inning to wrap up his outing.
In the fifth, Fletcher led off with his second double of the day to continue has excellent game. With one out, Teel walked, and Mead was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A productive ground out by Montgomery resulted in the White Sox scoring the tying run.
In the sixth, the White Sox retook the lead for good. Andrew Benintendi led off and launched his 18th home run of the season.
After Benintendi’s go-ahead homer, the White Sox did not let up. In the seventh, the White Sox rookies got down to business. Edgar Quero led off with a single, and with two outs, Colson Montgomery did Colson Montgomery things.
This performance boosted the talented rookie’s OPS to .858 and his wRC+ to 130. Montgomery has turned a lot of heads with the strong start to his MLB career, and he played a big role in another victory in this game. Montgomery’s homer made the score 7-4, and that was enough insurance for the White Sox.
The Tigers picked up the game’s final run in the eighth against reliever Dan Altavilla. Jahmai Jones led off with a double, and with one out, Spencer Torkelson hit an RBI double. However, Jordan Leasure took over on the mound and retired all five batters he faced to seal the deal.
The White Sox will face the Tigers again on Saturday, and the first pitch is scheduled to happen at 5:10 p.m. Central. The probable starting pitchers are Martín Pérez (2.16 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 1.2 fWAR) and Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal (2.18 ERA, 2.31 FIP, 6.2 fWAR). As usual, CHSN will show the game, and WMVP 1000 AM will have the radio coverage.
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