Chicago White Sox • American League Central
Benintendi Breaks the Tie as White Sox Beat Tigers, 4-3
Andrew Benintendi delivered the winning run in the seventh, Anthony Kay kept Chicago in position, and the bullpen finished a second straight victory in Detroit.
DETROIT — The Tigers erased Chicago’s early lead. Andrew Benintendi answered.
Benintendi lined a go-ahead RBI single into left center in the top of the seventh inning, and the Chicago White Sox bullpen protected the lead in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.
That’s a White Sox Winner.
The White Sox won their second straight game in the head-to-head series, improved to 64-58 and stretched their American League Central lead to a season-best four and a half games over Detroit and Minnesota.
Benintendi finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and the most important RBI of the afternoon. His decisive swing came after Randal Grichuk opened the seventh with a double and Miguel Vargas was intentionally walked with one out.
Detroit chose to face Benintendi. Benintendi made that choice hurt.
Tie game.
Seventh inning.
Winning run at second.
Benintendi delivered.
Chicago Lands the First Punch
Sam Antonacci opened the game with a double, and Braden Montgomery brought him home with a two-out single to right. Detroit answered in the bottom of the first when Eduardo Valencia singled home Hao-Yu Lee.
The White Sox reclaimed control in the third. Munetaka Murakami doubled, Benintendi singled and Braden Montgomery later reached on a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Colson Montgomery ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.
The Tigers refused to go quietly. Valencia led off the fourth with a home run, then Corey Julks and Gleyber Torres hit consecutive doubles in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.
Benintendi Answers Detroit
Grichuk began the seventh with a double to deep center. After Murakami struck out, Detroit intentionally walked Vargas and placed another runner on base.
Benintendi attacked the opportunity, shooting a single into left center. Grichuk scored, Vargas advanced to third and Chicago owned a 4-3 lead.
It was the final run either team would score.
Kay Competes, Bullpen Closes
Anthony Kay did not receive the decision, but he gave the White Sox 5⅓ competitive innings. The left-hander allowed three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out four while throwing 57 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
After Kay retired Kevin McGonigle to open the sixth, Jordan Hicks took over. Hicks recorded the final two outs of the inning, struck out the side in the seventh and earned the victory with 1⅔ perfect innings.
Grant Taylor worked around a leadoff single in the eighth by inducing a double play and recording a strikeout. Bryan Hudson retired Detroit in order in the ninth, striking out one and securing his fifth save.
From the moment Hicks entered, Chicago’s bullpen faced 11 hitters and retired 10 of them.
Pressure Shifts to Detroit
Chicago collected 12 hits and played error-free baseball. Detroit managed seven hits, but none after Gleyber Torres opened the eighth with a single.
The White Sox have won five of seven and now hold a 4½-game advantage over the Tigers, who fell to 60-63. The series concludes Sunday with Chicago positioned to complete the sweep.
Anthony Kay gave the White Sox a chance. The bullpen protected that chance. Andrew Benintendi turned it into a victory.
Sources: Game details and statistics verified through CBS Sports GameTracker and box score. Game narrative cross-checked with the Reuters game report.
Snowman Multimedia Official Game Report
White Sox 4, Tigers 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| Detroit Tigers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Hitter | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Antonacci, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Randal Grichuk, PH-LF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brenton Doyle, PR-CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Munetaka Murakami, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Miguel Vargas, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Andrew Benintendi, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Braden Montgomery, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Colson Montgomery, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Chase Meidroth, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tristan Peters, CF-LF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Rogers, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 37 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Hitter | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gleyber Torres, 2B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hao-Yu Lee, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colt Keith, PH-3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dillon Dingler, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin McGonigle, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Eduardo Valencia, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Spencer Torkelson, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ben Malgeri, LF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Clark, PH-CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Javier Báez, CF-LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Corey Julks, RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Zach McKinstry, PH-RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 32 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Pitcher | Decision | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Kay | — | 5.1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Jordan Hicks | W, 2-1 | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Grant Taylor | H, 10 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bryan Hudson | S, 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | — | 9.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Pitcher | Decision | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy Melton | — | 4.1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Drew Sommers | L, 0-3 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Kyle Finnegan | — | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tanner Rainey | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | — | 9.0 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
Extra-Base Hits
Chicago: Antonacci (18), Grichuk (18), Murakami (13), Vargas (28) and Colson Montgomery (19) each doubled. Detroit: Torres (9) and Julks doubled; Valencia hit his sixth home run.
Game Information
First pitch: 1:10 PM ET. Time: 2:33. Attendance: 33,119. Site: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan. WP: Jordan Hicks (2-1). LP: Drew Sommers (0-3). Save: Bryan Hudson (5).
Standings Impact
Chicago improved to 64-58 and expanded its American League Central lead to 4½ games over Detroit and Minnesota. Detroit fell to 60-63.
Decisive Play
Andrew Benintendi singled to left center in the seventh, scoring Randal Grichuk with the winning run after Detroit intentionally walked Miguel Vargas.
Sources: Official MLB game record • CBS Sports box score and play-by-play • Reuters game report. Statistics are presented for independent news reporting and game analysis.
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