The Detroit Tigers got swept in their most important series of the season so far.
Despite five competitive innings from starting pitcher Drew Anderson and a historic first big league at-bat from left fielder Brett Callahan, the Tigers lost 7-5 to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The loss pushes the Tigers to 60-64, with Detroit now 5½ games behind the first-place White Sox in the American League Central standings.
Anderson allowed three runs over five innings in his longest outing of the season, but Tigers lefty reliever Tyler Holton allowed the game-tying hit to shortstop Colson Montgomery in the sixth inning and the go-ahead, two-run opposite-field home run to first baseman Munetaka Murakami in the seventh. It was Murakami's second home run of the series and team-leading 28th of the season, a mark third baseman Miguel Vargas later tied with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
Callahan tripled in his first MLB at-bat, driving in the first two runs of the game in the second inning. The 24-year-old rookie finished 1-for-2 and was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, ending his debut early.
But despite Callahan's historic first game, the Tigers scored only one run after the third inning. And after entering the series in a playoff spot and with a chance to take over first place in the division, Detroit now heads on the road with falling playoff odds.
At the plateCallahan’s first pitch he saw in the majors was a hanging curveball from righty Sean Burke. He knew exactly what to do with it, sending it down the right-field line for a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the second, with designated hitter Colt Keith and right fielder Zach McKinstry scoring on the play.
Callahan became the seventh player in franchise history to hit a triple in his first major league game (per Stathead) and the first Tiger to hit a triple in his first-ever plate appearance since Bill Irwin hit a pinch-hit triple in an infamous 24-2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1912.
Brett Callahan hits a 2-run triple on the first Major League pitch he sees! 👏
His family is LOVING it 🥹 pic.twitter.com/EyCg5uBmNA
The hit also gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead, one they extended one pitch later when center fielder Max Clark hit a chopper over Murakami to plate Callahan and give the rookie his first major league run. Keith’s solo home run in the bottom of the third, his ninth of the season, then gave the Tigers a 4-1 lead.
With the Tigers down 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, catcher Dillon Dingler hit a one-out double to score second baseman Gleyber Torres, who reached via a leadoff double. It was Dingler's first hit since Aug. 8, as the struggling catcher went hitless in his previous 28 plate appearances. But with Dingler representing the tying run on second base, pinch-hitter Hao-Yu Lee grounded out to first base to end the inning and keep the White Sox ahead.
On the moundAnderson handed the bullpen a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, but the White Sox tied the game on a one-out, RBI single from Montgomery off Holton. The blown lead erased an opportunity for a win from Anderson, who set his season high in innings pitched (five) and pitches (74) on Sunday.
Anderson gave up his first run of the game after the White Sox small-balled center fielder Tristan Peters home after Peters hit a leadoff double in the third inning. Anderson then gave up his next two runs in the fifth inning on a two-run home run from catcher Drew Romo, the seventh of the season for a batter who entered the game with a .132 batting average.
Anderson impressed just as much with his defense as with his pitching over the first two innings. The righty induced a groundout straight to him from left fielder Sam Antonacci on the first pitch of the game, with Anderson snagging the hard chopper and tossing it to first baseman Spencer Torkelson for the first out of the game.
With a runner on first and one out in the second, Anderson induced another grounder off the bat of second baseman Chase Meidroth. This time, Anderson turned and fired a strike to Torres, who threw Meidroth out at first for the inning-ending double play.
Anderson’s second inning also featured a successful ABS challenge from the pitcher, his fourth of the season, as he leads all MLB pitchers in successful challenges.
Righty reliever Jacob Waguespack pitched a scoreless eighth inning to keep the Tigers within a run after Holton's two-run outing, but gave up a solo home run to Vargas to extend Detroit's deficit to two runs.
Next upThe Tigers head east to face the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series beginning on Monday, Aug. 17. The game has a 7:05 p.m. ET scheduled first pitch and will be televised on ESPN.
Tigers lefty Framber Valdez (7-8. 4.26 ERA) is set to face a Pirates pitcher yet to be announced.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers swept by White Sox in biggest series of the year so far
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