White Sox 7, Tigers 3: Bullpen, 8th-inning defensive errors sinks Detroit

DETROIT — Matthew Boyd put forth a gallant effort in his third start of the season, but it wasn’t enough to save the Tigers from Nick Castellanos’ defense and the bullpen. Three errors and late-inning runs by the White Sox led to a 7-3 loss for the Tigers, and a wasted solid outing from Boyd.

With the return of former Tigers starter Mike Pelfrey came the hope that the Tigers would light him up. That, did not happen. Instead, they threatened with two runs in the first and loaded the bases twice, but failed to bust the game open early and set themselves up for an easy evening.

Boyd struggled for the first three innings and risked a short evening before he recovered and retired 13 of the final 14 batters of the night. The lone batter reached on an error by Castellanos, who would make two more in the eighth for a poor defensive night. He would settle in nicely to finish with five strikeouts and only two walks allowed across seven innings of work.

Unfortunately for the other half of the Tigers’ efforts, they could not hit nor field efficiently, and it resulted in a single run in the fifth by Victor Martinez. Defensively, the team looked lost and Castellanos was responsible for three errors and two of the runs that scored on Alex Wilson in the eighth — a would-be 1-2-3 inning that would not end.

ROARS:

Matthew Boyd: After starting with a rough first three innings, Boyd locked it down and finished with seven innings and only three runs, striking out five batters.

HISSES:

Tigers offense: Facing batting practice starter and former Tiger Mike Pelfrey, Detroit couldn’t pour it on despite multiple scoring opportunities. Their best chance in the first inning yielded a mere two runs and they stranded the bases loaded.

Nick Castellanos’ defense: It was atrocious. He had three errors — two in the eighth inning and it cost the Tigers dearly as two runs ended up scoring for Chicago.

Joe Jimenez: Gave up a two-run home run to left in the ninth in a 5-3 deficit. The honeymoon is over.

STREAKS AND INFO:

The pace of this game, roughly: