DETROIT (AP) — Lenyn Sosa homered and drove in three runs as the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Sosa walked and scored in the first inning, hit a solo homer in the third and hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth as the White Sox won for the seventh time in eight games.
Tigers pitchers walked nine batters as they lost for the ninth time in 12 games. They are a half-game behind Toronto for the best record in the American League.
With the game tied at 4, Chase Meidroth led off the eighth with a single – his 13th hit of the season against the Tigers – and took third on Mike Tauchman’s base hit.
Tommy Kahnle (1-4) walked Kyle Teel, bringing Will Vest out of the bullpen, but Sosa hit a two-run single through the drawn-in infield.
Chicago took a 2-0 lead on Andrew Benintendi’s two-run double in the first, but Martin got into immediate trouble in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers loaded the bases with no one out on a double and two walks.
Spencer Torkelson flew out to shallow center, but Brooks Baldwin’s throw bounced into the Detroit dugout, allowing two runs to score. Wenceel Pérez followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Tigers up 3-2.
Sosa tied the game with a third-inning homer that cleared the first level of shrubs above the center-field fence.
Pérez doubled and scored on a Zach McKinstry sacrifice fly to give Detroit a 4-3 lead in the fourth, but Will Robertson tied it with an RBI single in the seventh.
Key moment
The White Sox loaded the bases with two out in the fifth on two walks and a hit batter, but Robertson grounded out on a 3-1 pitch. Robertson, though, made up for it in the sixth, reaching well over the left-field fence to rob Spencer Torkelson of a home run.
Key stat
Meidroth hit .591 (13-22) with a .750 on-base percentage against the Tigers this season, but was 0-3 in stolen-base attempts.
Up next
Both teams are off on Monday before beginning a three-game road series at a New York Yankee-owned stadium on Tuesday. The White Sox will be at Steinbrenner Field to face the Tampa Bay Rays, while the Tigers head to New York to play the Yankees.