The Detroit Tigers came into town to take on the Chicago White Sox after they dropped the series to the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the week.
If there is any time for the White Sox to flip the switch, it starts in June. So far, they are off on the right track as they shut out the Tigers in a 3-0 victory Friday night.
Reese Olson started the game for Detroit. It was a momentous day for his career due to the fact that it was his major league debut. For someone who has struggled gruesomely in Triple-A ball this season, he was terrific in Chicago.
He went five innings while striking out six and had a no-hitter up until the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Chicago White Sox pulled out a very solid win on Friday night.
Mike Clevinger was back on the hill for the White Sox after missing his last two starts due to wrist inflammation.
Clevinger went five innings, struck out six, and in honor of National Donut Day, he gave the Tigers nothing but a donut in the score column. He also threw 53 strikes out of his 73 pitches thrown. (15 swinging strikes)
It was arguably the best Clevinger had looked all season long and the White Sox need him to be like he was Friday night for the remainder of the season.
The scoring was minimal on both sides in the series opener but with a Romy Gonzalez single followed by a Tim Anderson single in the bottom of the sixth, the White Sox had some momentum.
With runners on first and third, Andrew Benintendi drove in Gonzalez on a first-pitch fastball the opposite way.
That was then followed by an Eloy Jimenez RBI single driven up the middle to score Tim Anderson which gave them a 2-0 lead after six innings of play.
They then added a huge insurance run in the bottom of the seventh as Tim Anderson doubled to the left field corner, driving in Jake Burger who ran out a double play ball the at-bat prior to Anderson's.
Middleton, Lopez, Kelly, and Graveman also joined in on the donut party, combining for four innings pitched, three strikeouts, three hits allowed, and zero runs.
It was a productive day for White Sox baseball at the ballpark Friday night and it is a much-have series against an AL Central rival.
The White Sox will attempt for at least a series win Saturday afternoon as Dylan Cease and Michael Lorenzen will go head-to-head with one another. Lorenzen was lights out against the White Sox the first time he faced them so it will be interesting to see how the White Sox will adjust.