White Sox 3, Tigers 2: Doubling up Detroit

The last time Randy Wolf started a game against the Chicago White Sox, was back on June 23, 2012. Then with the Milwaukee Brewers, Wolf had a shaky start, allowing five earned runs over  ER over 5⅓ IP in the 8-6 loss. Leading the charge that day for Chicago was Gordon Beckham, who went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

Fast forward almost 39 months, and again Beckham got the best of Wolf as the White Sox won the nightcap 3-2, sweeping the doubleheader.

Chicago struck first in the second inning, as Trayce Thompson led it off with his second triple of the season. He later scored on Avisail Garcia's sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. After striking out Mike Olt, Wolf's fastball got too much of the plate for Beckham's liking, and he sent the pitch opposite field for just his fifth home run of 2015, and his first since the walk-off against Texas on June 21.

With a 2-0 lead, the White Sox had a two-out rally in the third inning. Tyler Saladino tripled down the right-field line and scored on Jose Abreu's double, resulting in Abreu's 96th RBI.

That gave Erik Johnson a three-run cushion, and he used it up in the bottom of the third. He started by giving up a gopher ball to Alex Avila (his fourth) to lead it off. Andrew Romine and Rajai Davis both singled to put runners on the corners with only one out and the heart of Detroit's order coming up.

Ian Kinsler did his job with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run. With two outs and Miguel Cabrera at the plate, Rajai Davis tried to put himself into scoring position by attempting to steal second. Instead, White Sox catcher Rob Brantly gunned Davis down with a strike to second ending the inning with Detroit's best hitter at the plate.

In the fourth, Cabrera led off the inning with a single, demonstrating why it's not very wise to be aggressive on the bases with your best hitter at the plate. Regardless, Detroit had a great opportunity to tie the game with Nick Castellanos lining a double to make Cabrera hustle. With his numerous injuries, Cabrera could not score from first base, and he was looked at by trainers after the play. Johnson loaded the bases by walking Avila on four straight to bring light-hitting second baseman Josh Wilson. Showing off his moxie, Johnson struck out Wilson with a high fastball to end the threat and keep Chicago ahead.

That would be Detroit's last threat, as the Tigers didn't record another hit until the ninth, when Castellanos singled off White Sox closer David Robertson with one out. The base hit brought to mind Robertson's last ugly outings, but he bounced back to strike out James McCann and Victor Martinez to end the game for his 31st save, earning back a little bit of redemption in the process.

Bullet Points:

• Erik Johnson pitched well for his third win: 6 IP | 5 H | 2 ER | 2 BB | 9 K's
• Nate Jones had a great night, pitching two shut out innings in relief
• 14 of Trayce Thompson's 27 hits have been for extra bases (seven doubles, two triples, four home run's)
• Evidence that Detroit is tanking on purpose: In the sixth inning, after Mike Olt hit into a 4-3 double play, the Tigers intentionally walked Beckham with two outs. If you are the type of White Sox fan hoping for better draft positioning, the team is facing some stiff competition.