Samardzija can't hold on, White Sox lose 5-4 to Tigers
DETROIT - Jeff Samardzija struck out Miguel Cabrera with the bases loaded in the eighth inning - but as big as that moment seemed, there was another power threat waiting on deck.
Victor Martinez cleared the bases with a tying double off Samardzija, and the White Sox went on to lose 5-4 to Detroit on Sunday. James McCann hit a solo home run in the ninth to win it.
The Sox were ahead 4-0 in the eighth, but Samardzija couldn't hold the lead.
"After he got Miggy, and especially the way he did it, he obviously still had something left in the tank to go after Victor," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "We were going hitter by hitter that inning, and we felt like Jeff was the best matchup."
Samardzija allowed only 2 hits over the first seven innings, but McCann started the bottom of the eighth with a single. After a walk by Jose Iglesias and a single by Anthony Gose, the Chicago right-hander hit Ian Kinsler to force home the first Detroit run.
Cabrera struck out, but Martinez found the gap in right-center to clear the bases on Samardzija's 110th and final pitch.
Joakim Soria (3-0) pitched a perfect top of the ninth, and McCann's one-out drive off Zach Putnam (1-3) cleared the fence in left field to end the game.
"An 0-2 pitch, I was just looking for something up," McCann said. "I knew it had a chance."
It was McCann's third homer of the year and his first since May 21, when the Detroit catcher went deep in the 11th inning to beat Houston.
Melky Cabrera homered and had 3 hits for the White Sox, who scored 2 runs each in the fourth and sixth. Detroit's David Price allowed 4 runs and 6 hits in six innings. He struck out 5.
Price allowed only 1 hit through the first three innings, but Jose Abreu led off with a double in the fourth - then advanced to third when Detroit's Yoenis Cespedes fell over while picking up the ball at the fence in left for an error. Avisail Garcia followed with a sacrifice fly, and Melky Cabrera made it 2-0 with his second homer of the season.
Adam Eaton tripled to start Chicago's sixth-inning rally. He scored on Garcia's single, and Adam LaRoche added a sacrifice fly.
Confusion
Both Price and Tigers manager Brad Ausmus used the word "miscommunication" to describe what happened after the sixth inning. The left-hander thought he was out of the game, but Ausmus was expecting him to continue. Price said he had gone back to the clubhouse already. He'd thrown 99 pitches.
"I was up here doing arm exercises," Price said. "(Justin Verlander) ran up the tunnel and said, 'You are still in the game.' I said, 'No, I'm not. I have zero uniform on right now.'"
Price said he'd take the blame for the confusion. The Tigers eventually summoned Alex Wilson in from the bullpen.
Bottom of the order
Samardzija was disappointed about the way the eighth-inning rally started, with Detroit's No. 8 and 9 hitters getting on base.
"I'd say from 2-7, everyone in that lineup is capable of putting up a crooked number at any moment," he said. "The problem was that I didn't get the other guys in that inning. I let McCann get on, and then the walk to Iglesias."