White Sox score crucial win after long rain delay

CHICAGO – How long did it take for White Sox to complete an 8-1 victory over the Tigers Sunday evening at Rate Field?

By actual game time, it was just 2 hours, 50 minutes, giving the White Sox (80-76) three important wins in four games against the Tigers this weekend. The win also kept the South Siders one game behind the Guardians (81-75) in the American League Central.

But let’s cut to the real particulars of Sunday’s contest.

There was a rain delay that covered 3 hours, 50 minutes. Yes, the steady downpour forecast for Saturday didn’t arrive in full force to the South Side of Chicago until Sunday afternoon. Fans were allowed to leave the ballpark and scanned to re-enter because the delay was so long, which is almost unheard of in a professional sports event.

Those who remained for the game, with a first pitch at 5 p.m. CT, were treated to hot dogs for $5 courtesy of the White Sox because the delay was so long. The group of people who stayed through the deluge had the chance to watch a promising Bears season take a huge hit in Week 2 with a 9-3 loss to the Vikings taking place just 2.9 miles down the road at Soldier Field, which also included a right hamstring injury suffered by dynamic quarterback Caleb Williams.

Due to the length of the delay, the entirety of the Bears game was shown on the center-field scoreboard on a split-screen with a weather radar map to the right. The waiting really was the hardest part, but it was worth the wait.

White Sox players and manager Will Venable found ways to occupy themselves during the massive downtime.

“I FaceTimed the family a lot,” Venable said. “There was football on. We had time there on our hands, and I thought the guys did a really good job after a long delay of being focused and really locked in.”

“Honestly, Sunday, thank God there was some football on,” said second baseman Chase Meidroth, who scored two runs and drove in two with his 15th home run. “Some guys were watching their teams. I know [Andrew Benintendi] was watching the Bengals, so we were rooting on the Bengals for him.”

Braden Montgomery doubled home a run off Detroit starter Troy Melton (8-5) after the Tigers had Meidroth picked off first, but couldn’t complete the play for the game’s first run in the second. Sam Antonacci doubled home two with two outs in the fourth, coming after Brenton Doyle beat out an infield grounder to third baseman Hao-Yu Lee, and Kyle Teel brought him home with a single to right.

Following Mediroth’s long ball in the fifth, the White Sox tacked on two runs in the eighth to complete the easy victory.

Davis Martin held the Tigers scoreless for 4 1/3 innings, but was taken out at 70 pitches for Hagen Smith with a runner on first in the fifth. Martin was bothered by right calf pain but wanted to push through until he couldn’t anymore.

“I’ve been dealing with it since April. So it’s been an on-and-off thing,” said Martin, who has a 0.89 ERA over four September appearances. “Just tonight, with the instability on the mound, it was just an added little layer where I was sliding all over the place. Just kind of throbbing pain.

“Nothing that’s going to hold me long term. I’ve been throwing through it all year. Just thought it was wise with where the game was going and Hagen lining up with McGonigle, doing my job, taking the ego out of it, and when it’s my turn to hand the ball over, it’s my turn to hand the ball over. It worked out well for us tonight. We won the game and that’s what it’s all about.”

Smith walked McGonigle and Gleyber Torres to load the bases, but struck out Lee and retired Riley Greene on a groundout to end the threat. Huascar Brazobán, who returned from the injured list earlier in the day, earned the victory, with the White Sox even having Anthony Kay warming up midway through the game in case he was needed to help a workload-restricted bullpen. Kay is set to start Tuesday in Kansas City.

With Atlanta completing a sweep of the Astros in Houston and Toronto’s victory over the Rangers, the White Sox hold a three-game lead on both for the third Wild Card spot with six games to play. It was a cold and wet way to get closer to the playoffs, but the White Sox didn’t mind.

“We’re just taking it one step at a time,” Meidroth said. “We win the last six games, we’re in a good spot.”