Tigers 2, White Sox 1: J.D. Martinez homers in support of Michael Fulmer’s strong start

DETROIT — Michael Fulmer had another solid outing and kept the White Sox silent for most of the game. The offense had an off night but J.D. Martinez pinch-hit for James McCann in the eighth and gave the Tigers the lead. His home run propelled the Tigers to a 2-1 lead over the White Sox, and pushed Detroit’s win streak to eight games.

The first pitch of the game J.D. Martinez saw back from the disabled list was to his liking, and he buried it into the center field bushes. Throughout the evening, the Tigers could barely touch Chris Sale ... until Martinez stepped to the plate and broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth. With one pitch he electrified the ballpark and gave the Tigers the lead they’d sought.

The other run came via a group effort in the fourth when Miguel Cabrera led off with a double, and Nick Castellanos followed with a double of his own to score the first baseman. The offense wouldn’t do much else against Sale, but with Fulmer pitching like he was, they didn’t need it.

Three double plays through four innings started his night, but Fulmer didn’t need them as the night wore on. He appeared to be off his game at times, yet he maintained a low pitch count and had no damage to speak of for much of the game. There was little contact and what of it there was, it was weak and kept to the ground. His night ended when he gave up a single and a hit-batter, but it was another solid start for the rookie.

ROARS:

Michael Fulmer: Allowed just three hits in the first six innings and no runs. He gave up one run in all, a solo shot in the seventh, and finished with five hits on the night.

Shane Greene: He was equally splendid, getting that last out in the seventh to strand two inherited runners, then came back for a scoreless eighth.

Jose Iglesias: He had just one hit but his defense was stellar. He was charged with an error in the fourth, but made up for it with the third double play of the game. In all, he was involved with eight of the 13 outs through eight innings.

J.D. Martinez: One pitch, one home run. Welcome back, J.D. Martinez.

HISSES:

STATS AND INFO:

• J.D. Martinez hit his first home run since June 4, 11 games prior to landing on the DL. The home run was his second career pinch-hit homer, the other coming on May 19, 2014 at Cleveland.
• The Tigers’ win streak is at eight games and they’re 11 games over .500, putting the team 2 1/2 games back of the Indians.
• K-Rod’s 30th save of 2016 also marked his 900th career appearance, becoming just the 25th player in MLB history to reach that milestone.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH: