SoxThree quick swings and the Detroit Tigers wiped out a six-run deficit as if it was nothing.Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson all homered in an eight-run sixth inning Tuesday, powering the rally that produced a 10-8 victory over the White Sox.
“It doesn’t matter when, where or how it looks. A win’s a win,” said Raburn, who has 13 of his career 54 homers against the White Sox. “It’s great to come back from six down and pull it out.”
After the Tigers built their lead to 10-6, things got shaky in the bottom of the ninth when the White Sox loaded the bases shortly after closer Jose Valverde had to leave the game with tightness in his lower back.Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run double off Octavio Dotel before Dayan Viciedo hit a fly ball to the right-field fence to end the game.
“His lower back just tightened up, that’s why we had to get him out of there,” manager Jim Leyland said. “Right now it’s lower back tightness. Just got to keep our fingers crossed on Jose. I think it’s all right.”
It was 10-6 when Paul Konerko singled and A.J. Pierzynski doubled with two outs for his fifth hit.Valverde went to a 3-1 count on Alex Rios before a trainer and Leyland went to the mound. And shortly thereafter Valverde headed to the dugout and Dotel got the unexpected call to enter. He finished the walk to Rios, gave up the double to Ramirez and then watched as Brennan Boesch went to the fence to catch Viciedo’s fly ball.
“When [Valverde] was in the game and got a quick two outs, I thought the game was going to be over,” Dotel said. “This game is hard to understand sometimes. You think you’re in, and you’re out. You think you’re out, and you’re in. Just always be ready.”
And it looked like the White Sox were ready to celebrate a victory.Jake Peavy sailed into the sixth with a 6-0 lead before Cabrera hit a two-run homer to the back of the bleachers in left field.A double by Prince Fielder, who had three hits, and a hit batter set up Raburn’s first homer of the season. After Peavy walked Jhonny Peralta, reliever Will Ohman (0-2) hit pinch-hitter Delmon Young and Jackson followed with a three-run homer on an 0-2 count.
“I’ve been in jams all year. I just have to make a pitch to get us out of the inning there and try to leave with a lead,” Peavy said.
“I put Will in a tough situation having to face a couple of righties. … I just don’t know what to say. It was ugly. I let my emotions get the best out of me. I take full responsibility for letting the inning get to where it got and the bullpen had trouble keeping it where it was. It was just a bad loss. … when you get that many runs and you don’t walk away with a team win, it’s disgusting.”
Raburn and Peralta added RBI singles off Nate Jones in the seventh.Pierzynski went 5 for 5 and drove in three runs. Konerko also homered.Alejandro De Aza singled in the bottom of the first and walks to Gordon Beckham and Konerko loaded the bases. Pierzynski hit an RBI single and another run scored on the play when left fielder Don Kelly fumbled the ball for an error.Konerko hit his seventh homer and Viciedo added an RBI single in the third for a 4-0 lead.Detroit starter Max Scherzer labored with 99 pitches in his four-plus innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs. After singles by Adam Dunn and Konerko in the fifth, Scherzer was relieved by Collin Balester (2-0), who threw a wild pitch and then gave up a two-run single to Pierzynski for the 6-0 lead.But on a windy day no lead is safe in U.S.Cellular Field.
“This park’s funny. It doesn’t take long. You saw how quickly that eight-spot went up,” Leyland said.” It was pretty unbelievable, you’ve got to be careful here. …It goes out of here in a hurry. They almost got it out of here.”
NOTES—Former major league pitcher Jim Abbott, who played with the White Sox and was a teammate of Robin Ventura’s, threw out the first pitch to the first-rivals play, the White Sox fly to California for a brief two-game series against the Angels…..Detroit finished its nine game-road trip to Seattle, Oakland and Chicago at 4-5.