When the season began it was supposed to be the high-payroll Detroit Tigers leading the division, not the scrappy, glued together roster of the Chicago White Sox.
But as the season enters its final weeks, it's Chicago who is sitting in the division lead, now three games up on Detroit after winning Monday 5-4. The game was a makeup for last Thursday's game, which was postponed by rain.
The difference in the game came in the fifth inning when Alex Rios slid hard into second base to try and break up a double play.
With the score tied at 4-4 with one out and Rios on first, Dayan Viciedo hit a ground ball to Omar Infante. After tagging second he sent his throw wide after the hard slide from Rios, allowing two runs to score.
"That's a situation where every second baseman knows we're coming in hard. And it was a clean slide, and we took advantage of that," Rios told the Associated Press. "We scored two runs on that play and ended up winning the game, so it was a big play."
Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko scored on the play and the throw allowed for Viciedo to end up on second base.
"Rios got down there pretty good, we just didn't get the turn. Maybe if (Infante) could have come across the bag more," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "It was a tough double play. Rios got down there. When he hit it, I thought it was a sure double play."
Infante also made an error on Monday that led to a White Sox victory.
"It's hard to do. It's hard to throw once he hit me," Infante said. "I have to make the throw. I feel bad because I've made a lot of errors knowing the team needed different."
Detroit took an early lead in the game off of White Sox starter Jose Quintana, who struggled giving up seven hits, four runs and two walks in four innings of work. The Chicago bullpen was stellar, combining to pitch five innings, allowing no runs and only one hit.
Doug Fister started for the Tigers, allowing eight hits and five runs in just four innings.
The White Sox tied the game in the fourth inning after Gordon Beckham was hit by a pitch and outfielder Dewayne Wise hit a single to score two runs.
Wise has been stellar for Chicago since returning to the team from the Yankees, who released him after trading for Ichiro Suzuki. He has hit .347 in September and has added two home runs and nine RBIs.
The Tigers came into the season with very high expectations after signing prized free agent Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract in the offseason, but has consistently struggled all year.
Detroit took the season series against Chicago, winning 12 of 18 games, including nine of the last 11. But with 16 games left, the Tigers still sit three behind the White Sox for the division.
"There is still a lot of time left for both teams. ... We just got to continue to grind and hope that what we do every day, day in and day out, is enough," Beckham said. "This is probably still going to go down to the wire."
The Tigers host the Oakland Athletics, who lead the AL Wild Card, on Tuesday, while the White Sox visit the Kansas City Royals on the road.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
