DETROIT (AP) — Liam Hendriks angrily threw a wet ball into foul territory after his first pitch of the ninth inning, leading to a lengthy rain delay, then gave up a tying two-run homer to Daz Cameron before the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 in 10 innings on Friday night.
Chicago led 4-2 when Hendriks entered to start the ninth, seeking his AL-high 17th save.
The All-Star closer threw a ball on his first pitch to Miguel Cabrera, and when Hendriks got a new ball back, he went to the stretch then threw the ball into foul territory on the third-base side on a hop and yelled toward plate umpire Chris Conroy “It's all wet!” as he spread both arms wide.
“I slipped on my warmup pitches, and every ball the umpire gave me was wet,” Hendriks said. “It was raining so hard the umpire's bag was wet, so there was no way I could get a dry ball. That's just not safe for anyone.”
As White Sox manager Tony La Russa started to head to the plate, umpires called for a delay, and Hendriks spoke with the umpires as he walked to the dugout.
“They asked me if I was OK with keeping the game going, and I said it was fine,” La Russa said. “But then it all came down in a hurry.”
The game resumed 49 minutes later, with Hendriks fussing over the rosin bag.
Cabrera swung and missed Hendriks’s first pitch, then singled to right. After Eric Haase popped out, Cameron drove the next pitch, a fastball, to right-center for his home run in 62 career big-league at-bats.
“That had nothing at all to do with the delay,” Hendriks said. “I've never seen him, so I wanted to throw a fastball to get a look at his swing and he hit it out. He's a strong kid.”
Cameron's father, Mike, was a three-time Gold Glove outfielder during 17 major league seasons including four with the White Sox. He was the second hitter in the first game at Comerica Park in 2000 and was an All-Star in 2001.
Daz Cameron, 23, made his big league debut last September.
“Dad might get the ball eventually, but I'm sleeping with it tonight,” Daz Cameron said after getting the ball back from a fan in exchange for an autographed ball.
.Hendriks (3-1) had entered with 14 straight scoreless appearances and had retired 26 of his previous 28 batters.
“That's one of the best closers in the game, so you don't need to go up there and try to generate power,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He's going to provide the power, so I was proud of Daz for not going up there and overswinging.”
Yoan Moncada hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th off José Cisnero (0-4), sending Danny Mendick across the plate with a headfirst slide as he got his left hand in ahead of Jake Rogers' tag.
“In extra innings, you've got to go in that situation,” Mendick said. “I knew it was going to be close, but the throw was just up the line and I got in.”
Adam Engel homered in the second, but Nomar Mazara's homer tied the score in the bottom half.
Isaac Paredes hit his first homer for the Tigers.
A LOT OF EXPERIENCE
La Russa first managed the White Sox against the Tigers on June 13, 1980. Detroit, managed by Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, won 8-4. Hinch was 6 years old.
CRAZY SCORING
There were a pair of plays with unusual notations on the scorecard. In the top of the second, Mendick was thrown out stealing second with the catcher making the tag. Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal picked him off first and he took off for second before being retired in a rundown with Rogers catching him between first and second.
Seven Tigers ended up touching the ball on Rogers' error in the seventh, as Mazara fielded the ball in right, threw Cabrera at first, who started a rundown that included the other three infielders and Skubal before second baseman Jonathan Schoop made the tag.
UP NEXT
The teams play the second game of their series on Saturday, with Detroit's José Ureña (2-5, 4.25) facing Dylan Cease (4-2, 3.36).
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