Tigers and White Sox split doubleheader
DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Tigers will take any kind of win they can get these days.
This one required a long day at the ballpark.
Miguel Cabrera had three hits and scored twice to help the Tigers to a 10-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox and a split of their doubleheader Tuesday. Chicago won the opener 5-3.
"This was a nice. It was good for our fans to get to see us running the bases for a change," Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I told our guys to go home, get some sleep and not show up here before 11 tomorrow. This was a long day and they need some rest."
The Tigers are 11-45 since the start of June and 5-20 since the All-Star break.
Drew VerHagen (2-2) allowed one run in five innings for Detroit in the nightcap, then left the game after a 61-minute rain delay.
Héctor Santiago (1-1) yielded four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. This was his first big league appearance since the White Sox signed him to a minor league deal in June. He pitched for the New York Mets prior to that.
"He did what we needed him to do," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "Kind of tried to eat up some innings, tried to minimize damage as best he could."
Detroit scored two runs in the second, then Cabrera led off the bottom of the third with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dawel Lugo to put the Tigers up 3-0. Cabrera led off the Detroit fifth with a single and eventually came home on a single by Travis Demeritte. Gordon Beckham added an RBI single to make it 5-1, and the rain delay began before the fifth inning ended.
Jordy Mercer hit a two-run homer for Detroit in the seventh to make it 7-2. Trevor Rosenthal came on for the Tigers in the eighth, retired only one batter and had three runs charged to him. José Abreu came up with two on and the score 7-5, but he hit a weak grounder to third against Buck Farmer.
The Tigers then scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Dylan Cease pitched five solid innings in the opener, and Abreu homered and drove in three runs. Welington Castillo also homered for Chicago, and Jake Rogers went deep for Detroit.
Cease (2-4) allowed two runs and seven hits, striking out six with one walk. He also beat Detroit on July 3 before losing his next four starts.
Alex Colomé allowed a run in the ninth but held on for his 22nd save in 23 chances.
Daniel Norris (3-9) allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Abreu gave Chicago a 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer, his 24th of the season. That opposite-field drive came on the 11th pitch of the at-bat.
"It was a battle," Norris said. "I tried to mix in a two-seam there and sort of just left it middle. He put a decent swing on it and it went over the wall. I wasn't executing great in the first. I think if I make my pitches there, the at-bat's over."
Adam Engel hit an RBI double in the second before the Tigers rallied. Brandon Dixon tripled and scored for Detroit in the third to make it 2-1, then Rogers tied it with a fourth-inning homer.
Abreu put the White Sox up 3-2 with an RBI double in the fifth. Castillo, activated from the family medical emergency leave list before the game, went deep in the sixth to give Chicago a two-run lead again. Castillo was the 26th man for the White Sox for the doubleheader. Reliever Matt Hall was the 26th man for Detroit.
Hall was returned to Triple-A Toledo after the game. The White Sox optioned right-hander Dylan Covey, who pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief in the nightcap, to Triple-A Charlotte.
MOVIE REFERENCE
MLB.com released player nicknames that will go on uniforms during Players' Weekend from Aug. 23-25. White Sox reliever Evan Marshall has chosen "FORGETTING SARAH" - a reference to the movie.
"It's 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' - it's a hilarious movie," he said. "I thought, if they can squeeze it on a jersey, it would be a funny one."
CLAIM
The Tigers claimed right-hander David McKay off waivers from Seattle and optioned him to Toledo. He made his major league debut with the Mariners this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: Chicago transferred LHP Manny Bañuelos (left shoulder inflammation) to the 60-day injured list to make room for Santiago on the 40-man roster. Santiago's contract was purchased from Charlotte.
Tigers: Detroit put INF Jeimer Candelario (left thumb sprain) on the 10-day injured list and recalled Lugo from Toledo.
UP NEXT
White Sox: Iván Nova (6-9) takes the mound in the series finale Wednesday.
Tigers: Tyler Alexander (0-2) makes the fifth start of his major league career.