The Detroit Tigers salvaged another quality start from pitcher Keider Montero thanks to a ninth-inning rally and some clutch hitting from the middle of the lineup in extra innings.
The Tigers beat the White Sox, 5-4, in 10 innings at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 21. First baseman Spencer Torkelson drove in the tying run with no outs in the 10th off White Sox lefty Brandon Eisert. And after the Tigers loaded the bases on fielder’s choice from third baseman Colt Keith, center fielder Matt Vierling walked it off with a bloop single to right field.
It came very close to another Tigers loss before extras, however.
With the Tigers down 3-2, pinch hitter Jahmai Jones reached with two outs in the ninth on a pure-hustle infield single and shortstop Kevin McGonigle continued the inning with a single to send Jones to third. Catcher Dillon Dingler then came through with a game-tying RBI that sent McGonigle to third, but right fielder Kerry Carpenter couldn’t squeak a ground ball through the infield, sending the game to extra innings.
White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters recorded the go-ahead RBI off Tigers reliever Will Vest in the 10th inning on a sacrifice fly that scored first baseman Jacob Gonzalez, who started the inning on second base as the free runner. But the one run wasn’t enough from the White Sox, who did well to score off a dealing Montero late in the game.
Montero was perfect through four innings and had a shutout through five against the White Sox, needing only 50 pitches to get through his first five frames. But a leadoff single from Peters in the sixth was followed by a two-run home run from shortstop Luisangel Acuña, who had zero home runs in 136 plate appearances in 2026 before his sixth-inning shot.
That gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead, which they built on with a two-out, RBI double from Peters in the seventh inning.
The Tigers offense managed only one run against White Sox starter Davis Martin, who pitched six strong innings. Dingler’s eighth-inning solo home run off White Sox reliever Grant Taylor gave him his team-leading 18th of the season and brought the Tigers within a run, with Dingler once again coming through with his game-tying RBI in the ninth.
Detroit secured the sweep in front of the sellout, Father’s Day crowd, and is 33-44 on the season.
On the mound
Before the game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch complemented Montero for better utilizing his entire arsenal against batters this season. And in the first inning, Montero demonstrated what Hinch meant, throwing a four-seam fastball, changeup, sinker and slider as his first four pitches to leadoff hitter Sam Antonacci (who flew out to center fielder James Outman on the fourth pitch).
Montero was so efficient with his expanded arsenal that he needed only seven pitches to get through a scoreless first inning and eight pitches to get through a 1-2-3 second. His pitch count increased in the third and fourth innings, but only slightly, as he finished the fourth with just 33 pitches to his tally.
Montero got his first strikeout of the game in the fifth inning against White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth, with the Tigers defense recording all 13 outs before that. The defense couldn’t quite get to right fielder Braden Montgomery’s swinging bunt on the next at-bat, however, with Montgomery beating Keith’s throw by a step, ending the perfect game and Montero’s no-hit bid.
The righty quickly gave up the lead in the sixth inning off Acuña’s home run, though he got three straight outs immediately after to keep him in line for the seventh inning. But his seventh didn’t go to plan, either, with Montero giving up three hits in the frame, including the double to Peters that made it a 3-1 game.
His final line: seven innings pitched, six hits, three runs allowed, zero walks and three strikeouts. Lefty Drew Sommers matched the starter with three strikeouts of his own in the eighth, while righty Kyle Finnegan struck out another batter in a clean ninth inning.
At the plate
Detroit got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with a leadoff single from Keith. Both Outman and left fielder Trei Cruz flew out harmlessly in the next two at-bats, but after Keith stole second, second baseman Zach McKinstry drove him home on a two-out single to make the score 1-0.
McKinstry, who was hitless in his six previous games and entered the game batting .166, recorded just his fifth multi-hit game of the season. He had 26 such games in his 2025 All-Star campaign, including six games with at least three hits, while having yet to record a three-hit game this season.
He finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Tigers got their first scoring chance of the game in the third inning, with McKinstry stretching a bloop hit into right field into a one-out double. McGonigle then walked on four pitches to put two runners on for Dingler, but Dingler grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning scoreless for Detroit.
The Tigers got another shot in the sixth inning after a walk from designated hitter Riley Greene and a single from Torkelson put runners on first and third, but a soft groundout from Keith ended the threat. The game looked about over with Jones up to bat against the White Sox righty Seranthony Domínguez with two outs in the ninth, with the lefty-specialist Jones not having recorded a hit against a right-handed pitcher all season entering the game. But Jones just beat the throw on the ground ball to the shortstop Acuña, eventually leading up to Dingler’s clutch RBI and a wild 10th inning for a Tigers win.
Next up: Yankees
Matchup: Tigers (33-44) vs. New York Yankees (46-30).
First pitch: 6:10 p.m. Monday, June 22; Comerica Park, Detroit.
TV/radio: Detroit SportsNet; WXYT-FM (97.1), WDTW-AM (1310, Spanish only).
Probable pitchers: Tigers – TBD; Yankees – RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57).
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers beat White Sox 5-4 on walk-off bloop in extra innings
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
