Leury Garcia delivers Chicago White Sox to 4-3 walkoff win
He might not be the Chicago White Sox' most productive player, but Leury Garcia sure is popular.
On a raw Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field, Garcia hit a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth inning to send the Sox home happy with a 4-3 win over the Tigers.
With one game to play, the White Sox (76-85) are going to wind up in fourth place in the AL Central while Detroit (73-87) finishes last.
"It was awesome, fun," said Garcia, who spent most of the season with Class AAA Charlotte. "I was ready and I had the opportunity to hit. Put the ball in play and see what happens."
Trailing 3-2 heading into the ninth, the Sox tied game on pinch-hitter J.B. Shuck's RBI double.
Erik Johnson started for the White Sox and allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6⅓ innings.
After coming up from Charlotte on Sept. 1, Johnson went 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 6 starts.
"I thought I made a little progress with every start," Johnson said. "I wanted to go deeper in the game with a more proficient pitch count. I thought I accomplished that."
With Jeff Samardzija expected to exit as a free agent, Johnson has a very good shot at starting next season in the White Sox' rotation.
"I think that's the biggest thing, he came back and put himself in the running," manager Robin Ventura said. "When we go to spring training you'll see a guy who has worked his way back. He's had a nice minor-league season and has worked his way back up here and has been pretty reliable of putting him in there and getting us in a position to win the game."
Hot hand:
A non-roster invitee, Matt Albers seemingly had little chance of breaking spring training on the White Sox' 25-man roster.
Limited to 8 games with the Astros in 2014 due to right rotator cuff tendinitis, Albers pitched very well for the Sox in the Cactus League and has carried it through the season.
"I started throwing a different kind of changeup last year and I think it has just been able to help me with left-handed hitters and being more consistent with my slider and the location of my fastball," Albers said. "As long as I'm keeping it down and have them hitting it in the ground, hopefully guys make the plays behind you. It's pretty much a simple approach but I'm able to execute that."
Not only is Albers 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 30 games with the White Sox this season, the 32-year-old reliever has rattled off 22⅓ consecutive scoreless innings.
Albers is a free agent at the end of the season and should be able to cash in on his success.
"I love Chicago," he said. "I really like the guys here. We have a good strong bullpen out there. It will definitely be an option. I think they know that. We'll see what happens. There's a time and place for that coming up in the next couple of months so we'll go from there."