CHICAGO – The White Sox came into the game Friday with their playoff hopes not completely torn but frayed badly after being swept at home by Cleveland.
They trailed the Central Division-leading Guardians by seven games and were 6.5 games out of wild-card contention beginning play Friday. But having beaten the Tigers 12 out of 16 games this season, they expected at least to stop the bleeding.
Didn’t happen. The White Sox season remains on life support after the Tigers delivered a 5-3 win at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Akil Baddoo used his wheels to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. He singled off reliever Reynaldo Lopez, went to third on an errant throw by catcher Yasmani Grandal and scored on a sacrifice fly by Riley Greene.
The Tigers used the same formula to go up 5-3 in eighth. Miguel Cabrera walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Willi Castro. Castro stole second even though the White Sox executed a pitchout on the play. He went to third on a wild pitch and then rookie Spencer Torkelson came through with a clutch two-out double, blasting a 3-0 pitch from reliever Jimmy Lambert.
Things got hairy in the bottom of the eighth, which was something considering six White Sox hitters came to bat and not one ball was put in play.
After Alex Lange pitched a clean seventh, Jose Cisnero struck out two, but also walked two and hit Josh Harrison to load the bases.
With Adam Engel due up, Tigers manager AJ Hinch sent pitching coach Chris Fetter to the mound to give lefty Andrew Chafin time to get warm. The White Sox then announced left-handed hitter Gavin Sheets as a pinch-hitter.
Hinch immediately countered bringing Chafin in, forcing White Sox manager Miguel Cairo to burn Sheets and send up right-handed hitting Romy Gonzalez.
After all that, Chafin struck out Gonzalez on four pitches.
Closer Gregory Soto worked a clean ninth for his 27th save.
The Tigers jumped on White Sox starter Lucas Giolito early, like the first three batters early. Greene worked a walk, Javier Baez doubled him to third and Cabrera drove him in with a ground out.
Eric Haase, who had two hits, lined a two-out single to put the White Sox in a quick 2-0 hole.
Jonathan Schoop led off the second lofting a first-pitch, 91-mph fastball from Giolito high and far, into the seats in left field. It was his 11th homer of the season. According to Statcast, Schoop hit that ball with a 41-degree launch angle.
Giolito threw 60 pitches in the first three innings and was wobbling mightily. He did not fall. The Tigers mustered just one more hit off him over the next three innings — on just 30 pitches — and Giolito finished with nine strikeouts in his six innings.
It went the opposite way for Tigers’ starter Eduardo Rodriguez. His was a relative cruise through the first five innings.
Last Saturday at Comerica Park, Rodriguez stymied the White Sox hitters by throwing his fastballs away and his cutters and change-ups in — opposite of how he normally works. This time he fed them a barrage of sinkers and four-seamers for the first two-plus innings before he added the cutters and change-ups.
He allowed a run and five singles through five innings and had a 3-1 lead.
Two batters into the sixth, though, the game was tied. After Eloy Jimenez singled, AJ Pollock lined a 1-1 sinker just over the fence in right field.
Rodriguez gave up a double to Yasmani Grandal before getting out of the inning and turning the game over to the Tigers’ bullpen.
Rookie Ryan Kreidler showed some defensive moxie at third base. He’d made a throwing error in the second inning and then ran in front of shortstop Baez, screening him and causing a misplayed grounder that extended the fourth inning.
On the very next pitch, Adam Engel hit a ball down the line that Kreidler backhanded and, with his momentum carrying him into foul ground, made a strong throw across the diamond to end the inning.
He got the first of two atta-boys from Rodriguez for that.
His second atta-boy was earned after he started a fast 5-4-3 double-play that ended the fifth.
Kreidler had five assists in the first five innings.
