Tigers 10, White Sox 6: Comerica Park faithful finally see a victory

Some dedicated fans showed up on a beautiful summer night to see if the Tigers could salvage a split after losing game one of the doubleheader. Drew VerHagen delivered five innings of quality pitching while the offense came alive behind him to deliver a 10-6 win at home for the Detroit Tigers.

The bottom four hitters in the Tigers’ lineup all came up with key hits to drive in runs and took advantage of White Sox miscues, as they kept constant pressure on opposing starter Hector Santiago. Even better, they added on some late runs as sketchy work from the bullpen demanded.

The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, scoring two in the second inning. After a two out walk from Gordon Beckham, Jordy Mercer would drive a single to center, and Beckham would ultimately score on an error from White Sox third baseman Ryan Goins. In the third inning the Tigers added another run thanks to a leadoff double from Miguel Cabrera and a sacrifice fly from Dawel Lugo a few batters later.

The Tigers added two more in the fifth inning, one coming on the first major league RBI hit for Travis Demeritte. Then with two on and two out, a brief but heavy thunderstorm would arrive, resulting in a one hour rain delay. When things resumed, the Tigers loaded the bases against reliever Dylan Covey, but failed to convert.

Nick Ramirez came on to relieve VerHagen and pitched a solid two innings, allowing just one run. Jordy Mercer would briefly break the game open with a two run bomb in the bottom of the seventh inning. But the White Sox would get right back in it in the eighth, thanks to wildness from Trevor Rosenthal who left the bases loaded with one out for Buck Farmer who managed to limit the damage. The Tigers got right back to work, plating three runs in the eighth. Joe Jimenez allowed a run and still didn’t have his slider working for him, but he hung on for a 10-6 Tigers victory.

Whew!