DETROIT — That was no way to go into a series with first place on the line.
The White Sox let leads of two runs in the eighth, one run in the ninth and one in the 10th disappear, falling to the Tigers 5-4 on Sunday and getting swept in the three-game series.
Next up are the Guardians, who also lost and lead the Sox by one game for first place in the American League Central.
“They keep coming. There’s another really good opponent that we have,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “We’re excited to go back home and take care of business there.”
After a 1-5 road trip, that’s an understatement.
The bullpen wasted a strong start from Davis Martin, who allowed one run in six innings. Grant Taylor, who hadn’t pitched in a game in a week, allowed a solo home run to Dillon Dingler in the eighth, and Seranthony Dominguez surrendered the tying run in the ninth.
After retiring the first two batters, Dominguez allowed three singles, the first one an infield hit on which Jahmai Jones — who entered hitting .138 and was booed all weekend — barely beat out a grounder in the hole to shortstop Luisangel Acuna. The Sox lost a challenge.
After the Sox took the lead in the 10th, Brandon Eisert allowed two singles to tie the score. A third batter reached to load the bases when first baseman Jacob Gonzalez jumped to field a ball and immediately threw home without touching the bag. But the runner at third never went home.
“It bounced high,” Gonzalez said. “First, I had to catch it. And I’m in the air, so there’s no time to look to see. So I just came up and let it rip.”
“Interesting play,” Venable said. “You want to think about that run. That’s the game-winning run there. [I] understand the thought; the play happens fast. Got to be able to see that he’s not going and get an out there. But we’ll learn from it.”
Jordan Hicks — who was reinstated from the injured list after recovering from a right lat strain — then allowed a bloop single to Matt Vierling that fell in front of a diving Braden Montgomery in right field.
“[It] feels bad because we don’t want to get swept,” Dominguez said. “We’re struggling a little bit. But we’re going to get out [of it], and things are going to turn around. We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Luisangel Acuna hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth, his first blast since 2024.
Notes
Left-hander Noah Schultz (knee) threw 2 ⅔ scoreless innings for Triple-A Charlotte on his rehab stint, allowing two hits and one walk and striking out four. He threw 57 pitches, 38 for strikes. Schultz might need one more outing before returning to the Sox.
• Outfielder Everson Pereira still has some symptoms from the concussion he suffered crashing into the wall Wednesday in New York, including sensitivity to light — he was wearing shades inside the clubhouse — and is not doing baseball activities
• Venable said that Munetaka Murakami, who’s recovering from a strained right hamstring, has increased the intensity of his running — he said Murakami is up to 80% — and hitting. There’s still no timeline for his return.
• Upon activating Hicks, the Sox optioned rookie right-hander Tyler Davis to Triple-A Charlotte.