Sale off, but White Sox shell Joba, top Tigers
CHICAGO -- Six straight two-out hits off Tigers reliever Joba Chamberlain in the eighth inning turned a three-run deficit into a 7-6 White Sox victory Wednesday night at U.S Cellular Field. Avisail Garcia delivered hit No. 6 with a two-strike knock to center for the game-winner. After losing five in a row on the road, the White Sox have won two straight at home and improved to 8-3 at home.
"It was pretty neat. I feel like usually when you see something happen, you get one or two guys on before you get two outs," said White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers, who made the second out before the rally began. "To rally off two outs says a lot. A lot of guys grinded out at-bats, came up with big hits."
The improbable rally started with Micah Johnson's single to left, marking his career-high third hit. Adam Eaton followed with a line drive off the glove of Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos, which Castellanos admitted postgame he could have caught, but was ruled a hit. Melky Cabrera then connected on a 2-1 pitch for a game-tying, three-run homer. Jose Abreu and Adam LaRoche singled before Garcia came through.
Video: DET@CWS: Melky launches a three-run shot to tie it up
Chris Sale finished with a no-decision after making his second straight non-quality start, marking the first time since 2012 this has happened to the left-hander. He allowed five runs on seven hits and matched a career high with five walks over 5 1/3 innings, coming one start after he yielded a career-high nine runs in Minnesota.
Alfredo Simon was equally as off the mark control-wise, issuing four free passes and throwing 103 pitches over five innings. Victor Martinez, who had four RBIs, put the Tigers ahead in the third with a two-run homer on an 0-2 changeup from Sale, but the White Sox tied the game with one in the third and Cabrera's sacrifice fly in the fourth. Detroit pushed ahead with one in the fifth, as Miguel Cabrera delivered a go-ahead single to right-center.
Video: DET@CWS: Miggy lines a single to give Tigers the lead
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Finally: Conor Gillaspie connected off Simon leading off the second for the first White Sox home run since the first inning of an April 22 contest at home against the Indians. Abreu did the damage in that frame off Corey Kluber, with Melky Cabrera connecting later for the game-changing shot.
Video: DET@CWS: Gillaspie smacks a solo shot to tie the game
"This game is very important for us because of the way we could come back and take the victory," Cabrera said. More >
V-Mart finds home run on Sale: Just when it looked like Martinez couldn't buy an RBI, let alone a home run, he got a matchup with old nemesis Sale, allowing the switch-hitter to bat right-handed and take the pressure off his left knee. After a first-inning sacrifice fly for his first RBI since April 26, Martinez took a hanging offspeed pitch deep to left for his first homer since Sept. 25, 2014. More >
Video: DET@CWS: V-Mart slugs a two-run shot to take the lead
D-fense: David Robertson has not allowed a run or blown a save for the White Sox this season, but both of those had a chance to change in the ninth when Castellanos and James McCann came through with one-out, opposite-field singles. There should have been runners on the corners, but when McCann took too big of a turn at first, Garcia hit cutoff man Alexei Ramirez, whose relay throw to Abreu nailed McCann.
Video: DET@CWS: Alexei nabs McCann for big out in the 9th
Near-miss costs Joba big: Though Chamberlain gave up six straight two-out hits to lose the lead in the eighth, he nearly had a play on one of them. Eaton's line drive went over Castellanos' left shoulder and over his glove. It was hit hard enough to be ruled a single, but it appeared playable.
Video: DET@CWS: Eaton singles past the reach of Castellanos
"It was a hard-hit line drive, but catchable," Castellanos said. "Should've caught it." More >
QUOTABLE
"When you're down in the dumps and all of a sudden you turn it around, you win a game like we did tonight, I think it's going to help our morale and our mentality and give us a jolt going forward. It definitely feels good." -- Sale
"They played a good game to come back, but at the same time, it's hard not to feel like we beat ourselves." -- McCann
DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT
Opposing hitters have a .309 batting average against Sale this season.
HELD IN CHECK
Miguel Cabrera is just 5-for-17 against the White Sox this season. He also drew two free passes on Wednesday.
WHAT'S NEXT
Tigers: Kyle Lobstein will make his fifth start in place of the injured Justin Verlander, wrapping up the Tigers' road trip with a matinee against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field at 2:10 p.m. ET. Lobstein (2-2) has gone at least seven innings in each of his last two outings.
White Sox: Jose Quintana has allowed a total of three earned runs over his last 14 innings. But he has a no-decision and a loss to show for his work. Quintana is 12-13 lifetime at U.S. Cellular Field.
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