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.
The rain delay 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 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 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 off to the right. Yes, the waiting really was the hardest part, but it was worth the wait.
Braden Montgomery doubled home a run off Detroit starter Troy Melton after the Tigers had Chase 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.
Meidroth added a two-run home run in the fifth, his 15th, and the White Sox tacked on two in the eighth.
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. Smith walked Kevin McGonigle and Gleyber Torres to load the bases, but struck out Lee and retired Riley Greene on a groundout to end the threat.
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. The White Sox knew their fate before the first pitch, thanks to the extended rain delay.