DETROIT – Call it a bounce-back from a rough series loss at home to the Reds. Call it a statement game.
Or maybe don’t get so complicated. The 9-5 victory claimed by the White Sox over the Tigers on Friday night at Comerica Park simply supported their American League Central leadership for 62 days and since July 4.
As Ric Flair once said, to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. And the White Sox (63-58) weren’t letting that happen, moving their division lead to 3 1/2 games.
Detroit actually grabbed a 3-1 lead going into the fourth, scoring two in the second and one in the third off José Urquidy, who was making his White Sox debut. But that advantage quickly evaporated during a five-run fourth for the South Siders.
Chase Meidroth singled to right off Tigers starter Jackson Jobe to start the rally, followed by Tristan Peters’ two-run blast. The All-Star center fielder entered the night with a .119/.231/.164 slash line since the All-Star break and only three doubles in the extra-base category. Peters went 85 plate appearances without going deep.
Two outs later, that Detroit lead was gone as Munetaka Murakami connected on a 3-0 pitch for his 27th home run. Murakami holds the rookie record for single-season homers by a Japanese-born player, and while his on-base streak ended at 27 Thursday with a pinch-hit strikeout, he started a new one Friday. It was Murakami’s first career homer on a 3-0 count.
Braden Montgomery, who had three hits, completed the go-ahead push with a two-run triple. Miguel Vargas homered in the sixth, his 26th, leaving him a triple short of the cycle. He added his 27th long ball in the eighth. It was the ninth time this season Murakami and Vargas homered in the same game, one off the team record for a pair of teammates (which has been done three times, most recently by Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger in 2023).
Urquidy allowed three runs over 3 2/3 innings, striking out three, as he followed opener Sean Newcomb on the mound. The White Sox also claimed a 4-3 season series edge on the Tigers (60-62), and remained the lone team above .500 in the division. The victory also means the White Sox streak of seasons with 100 or more losses ends at three.