Tigers 5, White Sox 3: Playing out the string

A couple of games ago, some ugly defense from Yoán Moncada put the White Sox in an early hole. Tonight, another fan favorite helped put the Sox behind with some less-than-stellar efforts late.

A pair of poor throws from Yasmani Grandal on stolen-base attempts helped the Tigers score an unearned go-ahead run in the seventh, followed by an insurance run in the eighth. The White Sox did get Lucas Giolito off the hook after early struggles, but achieved nothing else as they dropped their fourth straight game.

Reynaldo López instead got saddled with the loss. He gave up a single to Akil Baddoo, which forced him into a battle to keep him attached to first. He got Ryan Kreidler to fly out to center before Baddoo could find a pitch for running on during López's subsequent battle with Riley Greene.

Baddoo had the base stolen, but Grandal compounded issues by sailing his throw into center field, high and wide of both Elvis Andrus and a Josh Harrison who maxed out his effort trying to back up the play. Baddoo advanced to third, then scored on Greene's sac fly for a 4-3 Detroit lead.

Jimmy Lambert took over in the eighth, and fresh off his failure in Tuesday's opener of the homestand, he once again walked the leadoff man by losing Miguel Cabrera after a 1-2 count. Willi Castro pinch-ran for him, and even though the Sox guessed correctly on the pitchout, Grandal's throw to second was late, and Elvis Andrus couldn't keep the tag on Castro at the points he was off the bag. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, and while Lambert got a pair of popouts to keep Castro at third, he fell behind 3-0 on Spencer Torkelson, who used the green light to bounce a double over the left-field wall.

The Sox threatened without a hit in the eighth inning, loading the bases with two walks and an HBP to bring Adam Engel to the plate. Miguel Cairo called for Gavin Sheets, which prompted A.J. Hinch to call for lefty Andrew Chafin, which inspired Cairo to call for Romy González. After al that, González struck out on four pitches, whiffing on all his swings.

Gregory Soto retired the Sox in order in the ninth for the save.

The Sox's last heroics came in the sixth, when Eloy Jiménez smoked a liner off the foot of Eduardo Rodriguez for a leadoff single, and AJ Pollock resumed his torment of left-handed pitching with an opposite-field homer on an outside-corner sinker for a game-tying two-run shot.

That erased the 3-0 hole that Lucas Giolito dug early on, in a start that's representative of his recent form. He struggled early, walking Greene to start the game, then giving up a lined Javier Báez double that sliced out of Andrew Vaughn's reach in right. A Cabrera grounder scored one run, and Eric Haase lined a hanging slider into center field for a 2-0 lead.

Jonathan Schoop opened the second with a solo shot, and while it seemed like Giolito's night was going to be a short one, he eventually found enough fastball command to make his changeup play up. He struck out the side in the second, setting a course for nine K's over six innings.

He eventually received some support as the night advanced into the middle innings. In the third, the Sox finally threatened Rodriguez with a pair of singles, and José Abreu delivered a third before the close of the inning to make it a 3-1 game. Vaughn couldn't add to the score, but he kept it where it was in the fifth thanks to the best defensive play of his career. Giolito piped a first-pitch fastball at 91, and while it looked like a two-run shot off the bat, Vaughn kept it in the park with a leaping grab at the wall. The Tigers would eventually score the two more runs they needed, but they had to work a lot harder for them.

Bullet points:

*The White Sox fell to 35-41 at home, officially locking in a losing record where they should be winning. Their tragic number is down to 3.

*Pollock is now tied with Jiménez and Sheets with 14 homers, three back of Andrew Vaughn's team lead.

*Fun fact from Chris Kamka:

Record: 76-75 | Box score | Statcast