The weekend began with grand visions. It ended with an uncomfortable look in the mirror.
The White Sox came to town with their bats and beat the Tigers into submission, slugging their way to a sweep at Comerica Park. They left town with a 5.5-game lead in the division, and left the Tigers face to face with their harsh reality: they are relying mostly on unproven arms.
The Tigers subtracted from their rotation at the trade deadline, even while inserting Jackson Jobe. They declined to add to their bullpen. They are trying to make the playoffs without Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize and basically any margin for error.
Some days, it feels possible. The Tigers took two of three from the Guardians to open this six-game homestand, getting a gem in the rubber match from Keider Montero. They entered the weekend holding down the final AL wild card spot, with dreams of taking control of the division as soon as Sunday.
Other days, it feels fanciful. The White Sox might be short on pitching, but they are long on pop. They lead the American League in runs and are top five in the majors in homers. As it turns out, this is not by mistake. Chicago has hitters up and down the lineup.
“You gotta give these guys credit,” Dillon Dingler said after Sunday’s 7-5 loss. “They swung it. They have one of the best offenses in the game.”
The tone-setter came Friday night. Fired up for his first start at Comerica in more than a year, Jobe was hurling heat. And the White Sox were smoking it, upper 90's out of Jobe's arm and triple digits off their bats. Afterward, Jobe seemed almost dazed by the damage. There's no path to the playoffs for Detroit that doesn't involve the 24-year-old elevating the rotation like the 25-year-old Troy Melton.
On Saturday, the White Sox proved Melton mortal. Mostly untouchable this season, Melton was gone in the fifth inning after surrendering nine hits, almost all of them loud. The White Sox drained his arm by either ambushing him early in counts or prolonging at-bats, and won the game by getting to rookie reliever Drew Sommers in the seventh.
And on Sunday, the White Sox were a couple swings better again. Even when the Tigers got the ball to their most reliable reliever of late, with the lead in the sixth, Chicago tagged Tyler Holton for three runs. The big blow was a go-ahead two-run bomb in the seventh by rookie Munetaka Murakami, who also went deep Friday.
Detroit dodged Murakami for five of the first six games between these clubs after he injured his hamstring in their first meeting back in May. The rookie reminded the Tigers this weekend why he’s third in the majors in slugging.
“We see his addition,” said A.J. Hinch.
When Miguel Vargas added a solo blast off reliever Jacob Waguespack for an insurance run in the ninth on Sunday — his third bomb of the weekend — the smack of the bat was followed by a groan from the crowd. And hoots and hollers from Chicago’s dugout.
It was the fitting cap to a series where the White Sox banged out 34 hits and 20 runs, 11 of them on homers.
“They jumped us a few times and we had to play on our heels a little bit, but that’s what good teams do,” said Dingler. “You try to counter that, and we’re definitely going to do a better job next time.”
If the Tigers are to catch the White Sox, it will likely have to be with their arms. The White Sox flexed their muscles all weekend as if to say, these arms? They ripped 35 hard-hit balls in three games, per Baseball Savant, squaring up everyone from Jobe, Melton and Holton, to Drew Anderson, Ty Madden and Enmanuel De Jesus.
“If you follow the sport, you can see that they’ve been doing that really all year,” said Hinch. “They play in a ballpark where they built their team to have some power, and they have different ways to score. They’re a very good team, and their record reflects it. Where they’re at right now with a month and a half to go is well-earned, and we’re going to get four more cracks at them.”
Those will come in Chicago in September. The White Sox moved above .500 in late May and have stayed there since. The Tigers dipped under .500 in early May and have been trying to get back there since. They entered the weekend one game away, and nipping at Chicago’s heels.
They leave it six games behind the White Sox in the loss column, and suddenly staring up at four teams again in the wild card race, albeit with a one-game deficit. More profoundly, the Tigers walk away with punctured armor, and a clear picture of their shortcomings. A big series for Detroit was ultimately a big setback, at least in the division race.
“It’s a missed opportunity because you play these games where you go one way or the other and we went the wrong direction, and now our path is a little harder. But it’s still there,” said Hinch. “We’re still in the mix. In this sport, if you ride that emotional roller coaster it’s hard to get to 162, man. You gotta have some toughness to you when things like this happen.
“I know it sucks. It sucks for everybody. It doesn’t help us beat Pittsburgh, though.”
Indeed, another opportunity awaits. The Tigers hit the road for six games against the reeling Pirates (60-65) and the lowly Royals (50-74). They could be flying home at this time next week feeling entirely different, with a couple contenders coming to town in the Rays and Dodgers. If this season has taught us anything, it’s that this playoff slog is far from over.
This team is far from done.
“This team doesn’t dwell on bad losses or bad series,” said Dingler, who was 0-for-the-homestand and 1-for-his-last 37 before an RBI double in the 7th on Sunday. “This team turns the page. It’s just the vibe or the spirit of the team. We love moving forward.”
At some point, they have to keep moving forward. The Tigers built momentum on each of their last two road trips, then came home and lost four of six. They missed Riley Greene in this instance after he landed on the IL during the Cleveland series, but his absence wasn’t glaring against the White Sox.
The Tigers weren’t lacking big hits so much as big outs, from most of the biggest arms they have left.
