Tigers 11, White Sox 5: Offense plows through Chicago pitching

DETROIT — Anibal Sanchez not only had a decent night, he limited the White Sox to a single run and wiggled out of trouble. But with a bad night for the bullpen, it was the offense that handed the Tigers their 11-5 win, and the top of the order led the way to a seven-game winning streak.

To be clear, Sanchez was not stellar. He was serviceable enough and got away with a lot of command mistakes, and the defense was outstanding behind him. Still, there were moments where he looked like his old self and miraculously the Tigers did not find themselves in an early hole.

Instead, they put the White Sox in a pickle, even if it took them a bit to get there. For four innings, James Shields was unhittable. He’d given up just two hits, a walk, and hit a batter, and the Tigers had two brief scoring chances that never materialized. The fifth changed all that.

It wasn’t the top of the order that got Detroit going, either. One named Andrew Romine knocked a triple to deep center, and the offense bat around before Romine flew out to finish the frame. By the time Chicago retired the Tigers, they’d scored six runs, hit two triples, and gotten four extra-base hits.

As for Cabrera, he topped off another big night with a two-run shot to right, putting the Tigers up 8-1 until Ian Kinsler’s two-run single in the seventh. Victor Martinez joined in with a solo shot to right in the eighth, and the Tigers answered all bit one run given up by the bullpen (Avisail Garcia's ninth-inning beauty of a dinger).

ROARS:

Anibal Sanchez: Six innings of one-run ball. He also walked three and had just two strikeouts but his luck continued long enough.

Fifth inning: After four innings of near silence, the Tigers’ offense got six runs off Shields to take their first lead of the ballgame.

Miguel Cabrera: Had a single, RBI double, and a two-run homer. Decent day.

Top four of the order: Combined, Ian Kinsler, Cameron Maybin, Cabrera, and Victor Martinez finished 8-for-17 with three walks and eight of the 11 runs scored.

HISSES:

Shane Greene: After a stellar July, Greene struggled with outs on Tuesday. He gave up a two-run shot to Avisail Garcia and allowed two singles.

Justin Wilson: Gave up a solo shot. Bad night for the bullpen.

Mark Lowe: I mean, it was a majestic homer, and Avisail Garcia can bomb them out. But yeah that was not good for Lowe.

STATS AND INFO:

• The two triples hit by the Tigers in the fifth inning was the fourth time this year Detroit has hit two three-baggers in the same game. The last was on July 10 in a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays. That surpasses their 2015 total, in which they had three games with at least two triples in a game.
• Tuesday night was the first time this season that Anibal Sanchez has gone at least six innings and allowed less than two runs in a start. The last time he did that was on June 15, 2015 in a shutout of the Reds. He allowed two hits in that game and struck out seven.
• The last time Sanchez started a game in which the Tigers also won was on April 28 in a 7-3 win over the Athletics. Sanchez went six innings in that start and gave up three runs.
• Miguel Cabrera’s home run was the 24th of the season and gave him sole occupancy of No. 46 in MLB history for homers. The home run was the 432nd of his career, passing Cal Ripken, Jr. for the spot.
• Cabrera’s 11 opposite field homers are the most hit by any player in MLB this year. The player with the next-highest total is Chris Davis of the Orioles, with eight.
• The Tigers scored 10-or-more runs in a game for the 12th time this season, second-most in the AL. Boston leads the league with 13.

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