CHICAGO – The Detroit Tigers built an early lead in the third inning, missed a big opportunity to extend it in the fourth inning and failed to protect it in the ninth inning.
Everything fell apart with two outs in the 10th inning.
The Tigers took a 4-3 loss from the Chicago White Sox on Friday, May 29, in the first of three games in the series at Rate Field – losing for the 19th time in 23 games.
Miguel Vargas hit a walk-off two-run home run off right-handed reliever Drew Anderson with one strike in the bottom of the 10th inning, crushing a changeup that stayed up in the strike zone.
It marked the Tigers’ seventh walk-off loss in 30 road games.
The Tigers’ downfall began in the ninth inning.
That’s when right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan surrendered the game-tying run, with the White Sox scoring on a sacrifice bunt from Rikuu Nishida after back-to-back singles from Andrew Benintendi and Tristan Peters to force extra innings.
On the bunt, Finnegan fired the ball to first baseman Spencer Torkelson for the second out, only for Torkelson to throw wild on the relay to catcher Dillon Dingler as Benintendi scored with a head-first slide into home plate.
Torkelson was charged with a throwing error.
The Tigers bounced back.
In the top of the 10th, Matt Vierling – the free runner at second base – advanced to third on Zach McKinstry’s sacrifice bunt, then scored for a 3-2 lead on Zack Short’s sacrifice fly.
But Anderson failed to slam the door on the White Sox in the bottom of the 10th.
Anderson entered Friday’s game with a 1.42 ERA and 35 strikeouts across 25⅓ innings in his past 11 games, including an active 14-inning scoreless streak.
The Tigers have a 22-36 record, remaining in last place in the American League and falling to 11½ games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are in second place in the AL Central with a 30-27 record.
On the mound
Right-hander Troy Melton made his second start since returning from the injured list with right elbow inflammation. The 25-year-old gave up six hits and failed to miss bats, but he limited the White Sox to just one run across seven innings.
That was mainly because the White Sox went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position against Melton. They had a runner on base in every inning except the seventh.
The White Sox scored their only run off Melton in the third inning, when Sam Antonacci hit a one-out single and Vargas ripped a two-out RBI double.
In that inning, the White Sox lost first baseman Munetaka Murakami – the AL Rookie of the Year favorite with 20 home runs in 57 games – to a right hamstring strain. He suffered the injury while running to first base on a groundout.
The Tigers will gain a significant advantage in the final two games of the series if Murakami – and his .938 OPS – ends up on the 10-day injured list.
Melton allowed one run on six hits and one walk with one strikeout over seven innings, throwing 89 pitches.
He owns a 1.42 ERA in two starts.
Although Melton needs to miss more bats, his emergence as a reliable starter provides a much-needed boost to a Tigers’ rotation without left-hander Tarik Skubal, who appears on track for a mid-June return from a minimally invasive left elbow surgery.
If Melton continues his success, the Tigers could be forced to eventually send one of their current starters – namely right-handers Jack Flaherty or Keider Montero – to the bullpen when right-hander Justin Verlander returns from left hip inflammation, possibly in early July.
At the plate
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
All thanks to Dillon Dingler.
He hit a two-run home run with two outs against right-hander Erick Fedde, who entered the game with one out in the second inning after left-handed reliever Brandon Eisert recorded the first four outs in a row as the opener.
Dingler pulled Fedde’s changeup below the strike zone over the wall in left-center field. (To set up the two-run homer, Short drew a six-pitch walk with one out.)
It was Dingler’s 11th homer in 52 games.
The Tigers missed an opportunity to increase their lead in the fourth inning, following Riley Greene’s single, Vierling’s single and McKinstry’s walk.
That’s when Short lined out to strand the bases loaded.
Fedde surrendered two runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts across four innings, throwing 84 pitches. Left-handed reliever Sean Newcomb covered the next 2⅔ innings without allowing a run.
Next up
The Tigers and White Sox meet again Saturday (2:10 p.m., Detroit SportsNet) in the second of three games in the series. The pitching matchup is left-hander Framber Valdez for the Tigers and left-hander Anthony Kay for the White Sox.
Valdez has a 4.29 ERA in 11 starts.
Kay owns a 3.96 ERA in 11 games (nine starts).
The biggest difference between the southpaws?
Valdez, 32, is on a three-year, $115 million contract with the Tigers, which is an average annual value of $38.3 million; Kay, 31, is on a two-year, $12 million contract with the White Sox, an average value of $6 million per year.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers stunned in loss as White Sox lose Munetaka Murakami
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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