Tim Elko delivered a game-winning single in the 10th inning and Josh Rojas contributed three hits as the host Chicago White Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Thursday.
Slumping Chicago earned a split of its four-game series against major league-leading Detroit. The Tigers came to Rate Field on Monday with 39 victories and left with 41 as Detroit and Chicago alternated wins.
Austin Slater’s sacrifice bunt set up the Elko at-bat after the Tigers intentionally walked Andrew Benintendi to start the 10th. The White Sox won for just the third time in the past 11 games.
Chase Meidroth, Edgar Quero and Michael A. Taylor had two hits apiece for Chicago.
Steven Wilson (2-1) pitched a scoreless 10th to get the win. Detroit had two runners on with none out in the inning but couldn’t score. Mike Tauchman caught Spencer Torkelson’s line drive to the right-field wall to end the threat.
Wenceel Perez, Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez each had two hits for Detroit. Beau Brieske (1-3) took the loss after yielding Elko’s single.
Rookie right-hander Sean Burke worked a career-best seven innings to help buoy the White Sox, who prevailed despite stranding the bases loaded in each of the first two innings.
Burke spaced two runs and five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He threw 65 of his 96 pitches for strikes.
Tigers starter Casey Mize regrouped from early ineffectiveness to scatter two runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Mize walked four and struck out three but had none of either when the White Sox played small ball to score a pair of runs in the fourth.
Vinny Capra’s sacrifice bunt after consecutive singles advanced two runners into scoring position. Tauchman put Chicago ahead with a sacrifice fly before Meidroth slapped an RBI single to right to make it 2-0.
Detroit scored its first run and notched its first extra-base hit on Perez’s solo homer to right center with one out in the seventh. The Tigers tied the game when Dillon Dingler blooped a pinch-hit RBI single to right with two outs, but the rally ended on the same play as Chicago caught Colt Keith in a rundown between third base and home plate.
–Field Level Media
