The lopsided pitching matchup didn’t materialize, but it turned out not to matter, as big bats beat big arms.
As he crossed into more innings than he had pitched all of last season (134) Sean Burke had his worst start since June 13, giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings that took him 72 pitches. His velocity was off a couple of ticks and his command wasn’t terrific, either. The first and biggest blow was a two-run triple in the second on Brett Callahan’s first major
league pitch. Callahan then was knocked in on a Max Clark single to make it 3-0 (Callahan’s next time up he was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Adam Beck on a clear ball, but his attempt at a challenge was declared too late by Beck, who had a terrible day overall.)
The Sox got one run back on a Tristan Peters opposite-field pop-up ground-rule double (those corners in Comerica are really short) and two grounders. The Tigers got it back to 4-1 on an opposite-field homer off Sam Antonacci’s glove by Colt Keith in the third, then in the fifth they learned why the dreaded leadoff walk is so dreaded: Tigers starter Drew Anderson, at his highest pitch count all year, pinned Peters down 0-2 then threw four straight balls, followed by a slider that didn’t slide that Drew Romo slid 386 feet to right to make it 4-3.
A Randal Grichuk pinch-double and Colson Montgomery broken-bat single in the sixth tied the game. Next, Tigers lefty reliever Todd Holton again proved the dreaded-leadoff-walk rule by giving Antonacci (who doesn’t hit lefties well) a five-pitch pass and following that by setting one on a tee for Munetaka Murakami, only to see it land 393 feet away. Make it 6-4, White Sox.
The Tigers cut it to 6-5 in the seventh when Dillon Dingler broke an 0-for-29 slump with a double to score Gleyber Torres, at which point Mune proved he’s not just another pretty bat:
That kept it a one-run game, and Miguel Vargas added a solo shot in the ninth for a little insurance. Sean Newcomb, who did the heavy lifting on the relief side with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work, had an easy 1-2-3 ninth for a 7-5 win. Hagen Smith had also had a solid 1 2/3 innings of scoreless tossing, with the only reliever to blot his copybook (can you tell I watch Britbox a lot?) being Huascar Brazobán, knocked for two hits and a run in two-thirds of an inning.
Oh, you want to see all the nice long balls? Well, here they all are!
The sweep sends the White Sox to 65-58 and drops the Tigers to 5 1/2 back and dreaming about next year (we hope, anyway). Next up is a trip north on the Red Line, beginning tomorrow night with Luis Castillo (who has spent one game in a Sox uniform making Chris Getz look dumb and one making him look brilliant) vs. Shota Imanaga.
MVP
Sean Newcomb: 2 ⅓ IP, BB, 2 K, SAVE (4), 31% WPA
Runners-Up
Hagen Smith: 1 2/3 IP, BB, K, WP, WIN (2-0), badass putout on a line drive off his belly, 12% WPA
Munetaka Murakami: 1-for-5, R, RBI, HR, 2 K, 19% WPA
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-4, R, RBI, HR, BB, K, 11% WPA
Randal Grichuk: 1-for-3, R, 2B, K,
Braden Montgomery: 1-for-4, BB, K
Colson Montgomery: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 K
Tristan Peters: 1-for-1, 2 R, 2B, BB
Cold Cat
Sean Burke: 4 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HR, -23% WPA
Runners-Up
Sam Antonacci: 0-for-4, R, RBI, BB
Chase Meidroth: 0-for-3, BB, K, GIDP
Brenton Doyle: 0-for-2, K
Huascar Brazobán: 2/3 IP, 2 H, ER, HOLD (10), -11% WPAColson Montgomery: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 K just kidding Vaughn
