White Sox: Lose a tough one to the Tigers on Friday

The White Sox showed they can fight, despite the tough loss to the AL Central rivals on Friday night.

Unfortunately, the final score of the Detroit Tigers vs. White Sox game was 4-3 with the loss going to Juan Minaya.

The Tigers had a three-run lead through the top of the sixth until the Sox rallied back to tie up the game. The three runs were scored after Daniel Palka and Matt Davidson got on base so Omar Narvaez could knock them in with his first home run of the season.

Close, but not quite enough

Once the score was tied, it became a fight for the finish line. And, the Sox really did give it everything they could. In the bottom of the eighth, the Sox came incredibly close. With Alex Wilson on the mound for the Tigers, the Sox loaded the bases. In what was practically a replay of the sixth, Palka and Davidson both landed on base with timely singles. Rick Renteria put Trayce Thompson in for Palka and Jose Rondon in for Davidson.

With no one out and two speedy runners on base, instead of trusting Narvaez to knock one or more of them in, Renteria called for a sac bunt. Narvaez executed it perfectly and moved the runners getting them that much closer to the goal.

The bunt was smart, but Narvaez went two for three on day, and could have probably earned an RBI with Thompson on second.

Countering the small ball

But, that out was enough for the Tigers. Ron Gardenhire countered the bunt by putting Tim Anderson on the open base, making it easy to get the final two outs of the inning. Gardenhire used one of his mound visits and the Tigers executed the next two plays perfectly. Charlie Tilson put the ball in play, but the Tigers used his groundball to get Thompson out at home. Then, Adam Engel ended the possibility by grounding out to Jose Iglesias who threw him out at first base.

It was one of the most exciting innings of the season, despite the team not being able to capitalize. The Sox strategy was only topped by the Tigers successful scoring play in the top of the eighth. My favorite play is the double steal with runners on first and third and the Tigers tried it. Fortunately for the Sox, John Hicks just wasn’t fast enough to get home after Niko Goodrum nabbed second. But, Hicks eventually scored on a Victor Reyes fielder’s choice.

Next: Possible trade deal landing spots for Jose Abreu

The two teams face off Saturday afternoon in what could be a hit fest. Jordan Zimmermann will take the mound for the Tigers; his last MLB outing was May 5. Lucas Giolito toes the rubber for the Sox.

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