Tigers turn tables on Cease, White Sox

There are no gimmes in major-league baseball, but this one looked like a pretty sure thing for the White Sox.

They drew the Tigers Thursday night at Guaranteed Field, the same team they outscored 27-6 and swept in a three-game series at Detroit last month.

Unlike AL Central entrants Minnesota (1-5), Cleveland (1-4) and Kansas City (4-4), the Sox had a winning record (5-1) against the Tigers coming into the game.

Tipping the scales even further, Dylan Cease was on the mound for the White Sox. In 11 career starts against Detroit, the right-hander was 10-0 with a 1.91 ERA.

Add it all up, and this was a game the Sox should have won in a breeze.

They lost 2-1 when a late rally fell short.

After Luis Robert delivered an RBI double with one out in the ninth inning, Jose Abreu struck out and Eloy Jimenez grounded out to end it.

Cease was good again, giving up only 1 run - a homer to Javy Baez in the fourth inning. He allowed 3 hits over 6 innings and had 8 strikeouts.

"I thought I threw pretty good," he said. "I would have liked to limit the walks (3) but sometimes it happens. It was pretty solid."

But the White Sox's offense was silent against Beau Brieske, the Tigers' rookie starter and 27th-round draft pick in 2019.

Josh Harrison got the White Sox's first hit, but it didn't arrive until he led off the sixth inning.

Brieske allowed only 2 hits over 6⅓ innings. Abreu also has a single in the seventh, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.

"He executed his off-speed (pitches) pretty well," right fielder AJ Pollock said. "For me personally, he gave me one pitch to hit and I missed it. Sometimes that's all you get."

The Sox were hoping Wednesday's emotional 9-8 win over the Twins in 10 innings would get them moving, but the brakes were back on against Detroit.

Now, at the halfway point of the season, they are 39-42 and floundering in third place.

"There isn't a lack of work," Cease said. "Sometimes in baseball, things happen. We definitely hold ourselves to a higher standard than we've been playing at but we're going to keep putting in the work. There's still a lot of season left. I wouldn't count us out of it yet."

Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who snapped an 0-for-19 slump with a single in the ninth inning, agreed.

"You lose any confidence, you're beat," he said. "Always be confident. You've just hit a tough spot. You just have to identify yourself more and continue to keep learning and keep working. You lose, and you want to win. You come to the ballpark the next day and try to win.

"You may lose again, but the ultimate goal is to try to win. The vibes are good, everybody's energy is good. Nobody gets down. Everybody has a life outside of this that they have to manage, as well. But for the most part, you just keep pushing."

Anderson, is leading Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette in American League all-star balloting with one day of voting remaining.