Tigers rally past White Sox 4-3 for doubleheader split
CHICAGO (AP) — With one swing, John Hicks provided a rare moment of triumph at the end of a tough season for the Detroit Tigers.
Hicks connected for a three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Saturday night for a doubleheader split.
Detroit was down 2-1 when Ronny Rodriguez reached on an error on shortstop Tim Anderson leading off the ninth. One out later, Travis Demeritte singled to put runners on the corners.
Hicks, batting for catcher Jake Rogers, then drove a 1-2 pitch from Alex Colomé (4-5) deep to left for his 13th homer.
"Obviously, it hasn't been the year I wanted, the year pretty much anyone wanted — numbers-wise and wins-wise," Hicks said. "To finish strong is, obviously, a plus. We've got one more game and, hopefully, we can go out and put up some good numbers, all of us, just kind of go into the offseason on a high note."
Before Saturday, Colomé had been 17 for 17 in converting save opportunities at home. The White Sox had been 58-0 when leading after eight.
"What happened today is not because I'm tired," Colomé said through a translator. "Sometimes you throw a bad pitch."
Buck Farmer (6-6) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, and Joe Jiménez got three outs — giving up a pinch-hit solo homer to Yoán Moncada — for his ninth save.
Anderson, who is looking to become the third White Sox player to win a batting title, went 0 for 2 with two walks after sitting out the opener. He is batting .337 and has a sizable lead over the Yankees' DJ LeMahieu at .329 heading into Sunday.
Luke Appling (1936 and 1943) and Frank Thomas (1997) also won AL batting titles with the franchise.
In the first game, Reynaldo López tossed five-hit ball into the ninth inning to lead Chicago to a 7-1 victory.
Eloy Jiménez and Danny Mendick went deep for the White Sox. Jiménez, who began the season in the minors, has 31 homers on the year.
Miguel Cabrera homered for Detroit, which has 113 losses on the season, the second-most in franchise history.
Saturday's opener was a makeup of a game postponed on July 2. The teams were supposed to play a doubleheader on Friday, but both games were rained out. The second of those was canceled, so each team will play 161 games.
López (10-15) allowed one run and five hits with nine strikeouts. He was lifted after giving up a single to Victor Reyes leading off the ninth. Kelvin Herrera came on to get the final three outs.
López was 0-3 with a 10.29 ERA in his previous three starts.
"It's a good feeling when you can finish the season with this good outing," López said through a translator. "I think it's important because you can carry this good feeling to the offseason and work on that for next season."
Detroit's Matthew Boyd (9-12) allowed four runs, two earned, and six hits in four innings. He struck out four to finish with 238 for the season.
In the nightcap, the White Sox jumped on top 2-0 in the second on a two-run single by Zack Collins.
Iván Nova allowed just one hit through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth.
Former White Sox player Gordon Beckham led off with a broken-bat hit just behind third and Reyes followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Nova then walked Jordy Mercer to load the bases and was pulled.
Aaron Bummer gave up broken-bat single to Jeimer Candelario to score Beckham, then retired the next three to escape further damage.
BIRTHDAY BOY
Mendick celebrated his 26th birthday with his second major league homer.
"I think it's the first time I've played baseball on my birthday in a while, so that was nice," he said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: 2B Harold Castro didn't start the second game because of a sore ankle. Manager Ron Gardenhire said he may not play Sunday as well.
UP NEXT
Tigers RHP Spencer Turnbull (3-16, 4.59 ERA) will make his 30th start in the season finale on Sunday. The rookie is coming off a solid effort against Minnesota on Tuesday, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings. LHP Ross Detwiler (3-5, 6.85) pitches for the White Sox.
