The Detroit Tigers narrowly avoided defeat in Chicago last night, escaping with a 5-4 win on the South Side. Tigers’ starter, Sawyer Gipson-Long, made his long-awaited return to the Majors after over 600 days on the injured list. Gipson-Long, who had been recovering from simultaneous elbow and hip injuries, showed flashes of why the Tigers had him in the starting rotation. Gipson-Long only went two and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs and five hits, while striking out three opposing hitters.
Gipson-Long had to wait a bit longer to take the mound last night, as shortly before gametime, the skies opened up in Chicago, causing a 90-minute rain delay. The delay may have cooled off Gipson-Long, but the Tigers’ offense immediately jumped out of the gate in the top of the first, posting four runs to give Gipson-Long some breathing room on the hill.
The offensive explosion early in the game for Detroit put them ahead for a good portion of the tilt. The scoring began when left fielder Riley Greene smacked a left field single, scoring both Gleyber Torres and Andy Ibanez. Catcher Dillon Dingler and center fielder Javy Baez each had an RBI single in the outburst.
The Tigers rocked Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jared Shuster, chasing him in the first inning. Shuster gave up four runs, all earned, on six hits in what White Sox manager Will Venable said was going to be a bullpen day for them, and it certainly was that.
After a quiet second inning, the White Sox managed to jump on Gipson-Long in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on the pitcher. Mike Tauchman and Chase Meidroth both smacked RBI hits to put the Sox within reach, and in the fourth, Josh Rojas was finally able to chase Gipson-Long with a sacrifice fly, putting the White Sox within one run, and giving them some hope. Another sacrifice fly, this time from White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi, tied the game until the 8th Inning.
The game stayed tied until the Tigers’ young, breakout catcher, Dillon Dingler, managed to score a timely hit. With one man on second, Dingler hit a sizzler for a double, scoring the baserunner and putting the Tigers up for good. Tigers relievers Will Vest, Tommy Kahnle, and Tyler Holton all saw action, combining for zero hits, walks, and runs scored between the trio. Vest was credited with the win, and Sox reliever Brandon Eisert was credited with the loss.
Chicago put up a good fight last night against Detroit, matching the best team in the Majors blow for blow. One standout player for Chicago is shortstop Meidroth, who has looked good all series. The rookie, having been called up in early April, has found a spot on the White Sox 40-man roster. He has shown to be a capable hitter, last night going three for four with one RBI, putting good wood on the pitches he has been able to hit.
The glaring hole in Meidroth’s game would be the lack of attention on the base paths. He was caught on pick-off plays on two consecutive nights, not reading the steal opportunity properly. If he can improve that area of his game, there is a good chance that Meidroth will be the face of the White Sox franchise. The kid can hit and has shown some brilliance on the defensive side of the ball, and at the age of 23, he is still young and has plenty of growth to do.
The Tigers were lucky to escape with the win last night. The rain before game time turned the field into a slippery mess, noted by the multiple defenders slipping and sliding on the grass while trying to field routine grounders. Both teams were fortunate not to have anyone leave with a significant lower-body injury. There was a scary moment late in the game when Tigers outfielder Wenceel Perez took a hit-by-pitch to the outside of his right knee; he stayed in the game and wound up scoring the game-winning run.
All that said, the White Sox do show flashes of promise. They have some young talent, Meidroth, for example, and the fact that they did not just roll over and give up because Detroit came into town shows that they are willing to play tough teams at their level. Yes, prior games in this series have shown the opposite in some cases, such as fielding blunders in the first game of the series. There is always room to grow and learn, and young teams will deal with growing pains.
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