Chicago ― The Tigers took the lead, then they took cover.
And, finally, they took the game.
Spencer Torkelson hit a foul-pole-scraping home run in the top of the ninth inning to propel the Tigers to a 2-1 victory in the series opener against the White Sox on Monday night in a game that was delayed more than an hour just moments after Torkelson’s go-ahead homer. Heavy rains poured down at Rate Field following Torkelson’s blast, hit so high it might’ve ignited the heavens. When play resumed, the Tigers made quick work finishing off the lowly White Sox.
“Yeah, that was fun,” Torkelson said in an exuberant postgame clubhouse, where the country music was blaring ― a rare scene the last several weeks. “I feel like I haven’t had one of those where I could, like, watch it, see it hit the pole.
“It felt great, celebrating with the guys, and then being able to, like, kind of take it all in and look at the dugout and see them fired up was really cool.”
Torkelson’s 26th home run of the season, down the line in left field, salvaged an otherwise forgettable night at the plate for the Tigers, who couldn’t touch most of the White Sox steady stream of strike-throwing pitchers. They hadn’t had an extra-base hit since Riley Greene’s second-inning double, before Torkelson, standing at home plate, bending over and giving the ball some body English, connected high off the foul pole in the ninth to break a 1-1 tie.
Much of the crowd of 16,054, seemingly split pretty evenly in their allegiance, erupted in cheers when Torkelson’s ball, off a 90-mph, middle-cut fastball, hit off the very left of the foul pole and fell to the turf.
The Tigers, behind Will Vest’s 12-pitch, 1-2-3 ninth inning, sealed the win shortly after the rain delay, just before the skies opened up again. That was good for the second win in a row for the Tigers (69-51) ― that’s their first winning streak in the month of August, and just their second winning streak over the last calendar month.
BOX SCORE: Tigers 2, White Sox 1
Their lead in the American League Central by 6.5 games (five games in the loss column) over the Cleveland Guardians, who were idle Monday, with 42 regular-season games remaining.
“It’s a unique win, but a good one,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We were pretty resilient. Missed some opportunities early, but didn’t hang our head about it.
“A lot of weird scenarios in play, but it ended in a happy win.”
Vest worked the perfect ninth for his 17th save, mowing through the 2-3-4 hitters in the White Sox lineup to cap a night in which three Tigers relievers combined to throw 4.1 scoreless frames.
Kyle Finnegan, the Tigers’ big trade-deadline pickup, earned his first win as a Tiger, after pitching a perfect eighth inning. He came in with the leadoff runner on, and got three quick outs, one on a strikeout.
With nobody warming up in the bullpen, he likely would’ve gone out in the ninth for a six-out save, until the rain came ― in sheets, and seemingly out of nowhere.
“We’ll never know,” Hinch said with a smirk, of his pitching plans.
The Tigers took the 1-0 lead off White Sox opener Elvis Puguero, on Dillon Dingler’s two-out RBI single in the second inning. That made up for Andy Ibanez getting caught stealing for the second out.
The White Sox tied it on rookie Colson Montgomery’s 400-foot homer to right off Tigers starter Chris Paddack, a day after Montgomery hit a viral 452-foot blast.
Montgomery, a top-40 prospect entering the season, already has 10 homers, his latest on a Paddack change-up.
“That was the one I want back,” Paddack said. “But, you know, overall man, I felt great.”
That was all the damage done off Paddack, the long-haired right-hander making his third start with Detroit. He allowed some hard contact, but just three hits to go with a walk, while striking out four over his 5.2 innings. Hinch took him out despite throwing just 74 pitches, 52 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 20 batters he faced.
But Hinch wanted lefty Tyler Holton against lefty Andrew Benintendi, and it worked, as Holton got him to fly out.
“He had plenty in the tank,” Hinch said of Paddack, “and he did his job.
“It was a good quality start for him.”
Paddack, on the relievers who came after him: “Those are huge zeroes.”
Torkelson, on Paddack and Co.: “I mean, unbelievable.”
Before the Torkelson homer, the Tigers had managed just five hits, all singles, and just one after the fourth inning ― Javy Baez’s leadoff single in the eighth, only to be immediately erased on Gleyber Torres’ double play. (Torres struck out in his other three at-bats, his first three-K game as a Tiger.) Before the Baez single, 10 Tigers were retired in a row.
The Tigers did little against their former teammate, Tyler Alexander, who entered in relief of Puguero (Elvis had left the ballgame; sorry) after he made his first big-league start. Alxander gave up two hits and a walk while striking out five.
The first two reached in the fourth off Alexander, Wenceel Perez ― back after fouling a ball off his foot Saturday; he was fine, even making a nice running, sliding catch in right ― and Torkelson on singles, but Riley Greene popped up in a failed left-on-left matchup, and Ibanez struck out. Alexander didn’t want any part of Dingler, walking him on five pitches. He clearly preferred to go left-on-left against Zach McKinstry, who struck out on three pitches.
The Tigers struck out 13 times, with Torres and McKinstry with three each.
Relievers Steven Wilson and Grant Taylor also put up zeroes against the White Sox, who, at 43-76, have by far he worst record in the AL. Lefty Brandon Eisert (4-2) gave up the homer to Torkelson, as the Tigers barely beat the rain to barely beat the White Sox, stacking wins for the first time since July 27-30.
“We feel like that was a little inevitable in a long season, to kind of go through a tough stretch,” Torkelson said, after the Tigers closed out the win in a window just long enough to get it done before another delay. “I think we’re just taking it day by day, trying to win every single day.
“We’re a really good team.”
A team with, at least in Torkelson’s case Monday night, some darn good aim ― and some good timing.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
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