BENNY COMES UP CLUTCH AGAIN: White Sox Grab 4.5-Game AL Central Grip with Thrilling 4-3 Win Over Tigers
DETROIT — The South Siders left Motown with the kind of win that defines a season. Andrew Benintendi played the role of ice-cold assassin on Saturday, ripping a tie-breaking RBI single in the seventh inning to push the Chicago White Sox past the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, for their second straight victory in this pivotal AL Central showdown.
The White Sox have now won five of their last seven, and their lead in the Central is the fattest it's been all season. At 64-58, Chicago sits 4.5 games clear of both the Tigers (60-63) and the Minnesota Twins. That's breathing room, but not comfort — not with this rivalry heating up.
BULLPEN BUCKS
Jordan Hicks (2-1) slammed the door in relief, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win. Bryan Hudson then locked it down in the ninth, notching his fifth save of the season. When the game was on the line, Chicago's relief corps was pure nails.
EARLY FIREWORKS
The teams traded runs in the first inning like prize fighters feeling each other out. Braden Montgomery opened the scoring with an RBI single for the White Sox, but Eduardo Valencia answered right back for Detroit with an RBI single of his own to knot things up.
Chicago kept threatening, but kept leaving meat on the bone. Former Tiger Jake Rogers bunted into a double play, and Spencer Torkelson threw a dart to gun down Munetaka Murakami at the plate. But in the third, Colson Montgomery delivered the big blow — a two-out, two-run double that gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead.
THE TIGERS STRIKE BACK
Valencia picked up right where he left off in the fourth, leading off the inning with his sixth career home run in 50 at-bats to cut the lead to 3-2. Then came the tension. Chicago got a runner to third with one out in the fifth, but Detroit went to the bullpen and called on Drew Sommers. He responded by striking out Braden Montgomery and Colson Montgomery to escape the jam.
Detroit grabbed the momentum in the bottom of the frame, tying the game on back-to-back doubles from Corey Julks and Gleyber Torres. Suddenly, the White Sox were in a dogfight.
BENNY TAKES OVER
That's when Benintendi stepped into the box in the seventh. With the pressure cranked to max, he delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon — a go-ahead RBI single off Sommers (0-3) that put Chicago back on top for good.
WHAT'S NEXT
The series wraps on Sunday, with Tigers right-hander Drew Anderson (4-4, 3.91 ERA) taking the mound against White Sox righty Sean Burke (7-6, 2.99 ERA). Buckle up.