The White Sox just completed an absolute nail-biter of a sweep against Detroit, pulling out a dramatic 7-5 win that felt like a heavyweight slugfest from the jump. You wanna talk about a game that had everything? This was it, from huge dingers to bullpen heroes to an umpire having a legitimately “terrible day.”
The Early Rollercoaster and a Rough Start for Burke
Alright, so the pitching matchup everyone expected to be lopsided didn’t quite pan out, but man, the bats showed up instead. White Sox starter Sean Burke had his worst outing since way back on June 13, and you could feel it from his velocity being off a couple of ticks and his command just not there. He gave up four earned runs on five hits and three walks in just 4 1/3 innings, tossing 72 pitches, and surprisingly crossing more innings than he had pitched all of last season with this start! The Tigers made him pay early, especially when Brett Callahan stepped up for his *first major league pitch ever* and promptly smoked a two-run triple. Max Clark then knocked him in with a single, and just like that, it was 3-0 Detroit. The Sox managed to claw one back on a Tristan Peters opposite-field pop-up ground-rule double, thanks to those short corners in Comerica, and two grounders. But then Colt Keith answered with an opposite-field homer off Sam Antonacci’s glove, pushing it back to 4-1 Detroit in the third. And yeah, for the record, home plate umpire Adam Beck had himself a shocker, making a truly terrible call on Callahan later, declaring his challenge too late on what was a clear ball. Seriously, a brutal day for the guy behind the plate.
The Leadoff Walk, The Bombs, and the Tie
This game was a masterclass in why you absolutely dread the leadoff walk, because it killed Detroit. Tigers starter Drew Anderson, already at his highest pitch count of the year, got Peters 0-2 then threw four straight balls for a walk. What happened next? Drew Romo absolutely crushed a slider that didn’t slide, sending it 386 feet to right, instantly making it 4-3. Are you kidding me?! The White Sox weren’t done fighting, tying the game in the sixth after a Randal Grichuk pinch-double and a Colson Montgomery broken-bat single. Then, almost immediately, the “dreaded leadoff walk” rule struck again. Tigers lefty reliever Todd Holton gave Sam Antonacci, who struggles against lefties, a five-pitch free pass. Guess what happened next? Munetaka Murakami, who is no stranger to big hits, absolutely demolished the next pitch 393 feet away. BOOM. 6-4 White Sox! The Tigers did cut it to 6-5 in the seventh when Dillon Dingler finally broke an agonizing 0-for-29 slump with a double that scored Gleyber Torres.
Clutch Relief and What’s Next
But that’s as close as they got. Miguel Vargas added a solo shot in the ninth for some much-needed insurance, making it 7-5. The bullpen, man, they were clutch! Sean Newcomb, who was rightfully named MVP of this one, did the heavy lifting with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work, capping it off with an easy 1-2-3 ninth to lock down the save, his fourth of the year. Hagen Smith was also huge, throwing 1 2/3 solid scoreless innings, even making a “badass putout” on a line drive off his belly, earning the win. Huascar Brazobán was the only one to give up a run in relief, but overall, the bullpen came through when it mattered most.
This sweep sends the White Sox to a solid 65-58 record, while the Tigers are now 5 1/2 games back and, frankly, probably already dreaming about next year. Tomorrow night, the White Sox head north on the Red Line for another big one, with Luis Castillo, who’s been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde for the Sox, squaring off against Shota Imanaga. Let’s see if this sweep keeps the momentum rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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