Anderson's HR, 4-hit day power White Sox

Tim Anderson is back atop the White Sox lineup, and his presence truly was noticeable once again during a 7-5 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon at Comerica Park.

In fact, Anderson had vowed to bring fun back to a dormant White Sox attack upon his return from a stint on the 10-day injured list with a strained right groin on Tuesday, and he has fulfilled that goal with five runs scored in two straight victories.

“The energizer bunny, baby,” said Anderson with a broad smile. “Just my presence, being in that lineup definitely made the guys go.”

• Box score

"I saw plenty of him today,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He's a good hitter, a great player. He's a world of talent, and he hit just about everything we threw up there today. He makes all the plays. The young man's a really talented player offensively and defensively."

Anderson matched a career high with four hits, finishing a double short of becoming the seventh player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, and scored three runs as the White Sox won a second straight and took the series in Detroit.

He set the tone from his first plate appearance, a 10-pitch at-bat against Detroit starter Matthew Boyd that culminated in a home run to left. That at-bat featured six straight two-strike foul balls, the 405-foot blast and Anderson’s trademark celebratory reaction as soon as he knew he'd connected off the Boyd slider.

Eloy Jiménez followed with a home run on an 0-2 pitch to give the White Sox a quick 2-0 lead.

“I definitely wanted to start the party,” Anderson said. “I've seen everything [Boyd] has, so that gave the opportunity for every guy behind me to see every pitch. Just stay locked in. He was defeated, so he had no other choice but to come to me, and I didn’t miss it. I let him know, too.”

As Anderson, the defending American League batting champ, hit third base on his home run trot, he put his finger to his lips to quiet the nonexistent crowd. This move was more about silencing his remaining doubters.

“Let them sleep, baby,” he said. “A lot of doubters out there. They motivated me, like, 'Who’s going to be the leadoff guy?' You know, nothing against Luis Robert, but come on, man. Come on."

“Yes, of course, I agree with him,” said a smiling Robert through interpreter Billy Russo. “I've said this before, he's our leadoff. He's done a terrific job in that spot. I am ready to help the team in whatever slot in the lineup I'm hitting on that certain day. I don't think there's anything else I can say.”

Detroit reclaimed the lead with a four-run fourth, but the White Sox answered with their own four-spot in the top of the fifth. Anderson started that rally with a single, and Robert’s two-out three-run double to right off Boyd gave the White Sox a 6-5 advantage. Those three RBIs were Robert’s first since Aug. 1, and they came two days after manager Rick Renteria gave Robert his only day off thus far this season.

“That day off, I took it just trying to adjust, learn about the things that I've been doing wrong,” Robert said. “Just try to improve, that's basically what I did that day. I kept working on my offense, tried to get better and make some adjustments. I always try to learn from the game, from my teammates. It's a learning process. That's what I try to do every day.”

Right-hander Dylan Cease earned the victory, improving to 4-0 lifetime in four career starts against the Tigers while standing at 3-8 against every other team. He allowed five runs -- but only one earned -- over six innings, striking out five and not issuing a walk. He was supported by a 10-hit attack sparked by Anderson’s dynamic presence at the top, and the White Sox improved to 10-9 overall.

It was such an active day for Anderson that the TV broadcast caught him lying down and relaxing in the dugout in the ninth while the White Sox were hitting.

“I had 4-for-5 today,” said Anderson, still featuring a broad smile. “I was just taking a little break."

"There's a reason he was the batting average champion in the AL last year,” Detroit catcher Grayson Greiner said. “He's a very good hitter, a very smart hitter. It's a chess match trying to figure out how to get him out. I lost the chess match today. He was a tough out today. He's always a tough out.”