Torkelson scrapes foul pole for homer in Tigers’ moist, wild win

Chicago ― The Tigers took the lead, then they took cowl.

And, lastly, they took the sport.

Spencer Torkelson hit a foul-pole-scraping house run within the prime of the ninth inning to propel the Tigers to a 2-1 victory within the collection opener in opposition to the White Sox on Monday evening in a recreation that was delayed greater than an hour simply moments after Torkelson’s go-ahead homer. Heavy rains poured down at Rate Field following Torkelson’s blast, hit so excessive it’d’ve ignited the heavens. When play resumed, the Tigers made fast work ending off the lowly White Sox.

“Yeah, that was fun,” Torkelson stated in an exuberant postgame clubhouse, the place the nation music was blaring ― a uncommon scene the final a number of weeks. “I feel like I haven’t had one of those where I could, like, watch it, see it hit the pole.

“It felt nice, celebrating with the blokes, after which having the ability to, like, sort of take all of it in and have a look at the dugout and see them fired up was actually 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 novel win, however a superb one,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We had been fairly resilient. Missed some alternatives early, however did not dangle our head about it.

“A lot of weird scenarios in play, but it ended in a happy win.”

Vest labored the right ninth for his seventeenth save, mowing via the 2-3-4 hitters within the White Sox lineup to cap an evening through which three Tigers relievers mixed to throw 4.1 scoreless frames.

Kyle Finnegan, the Tigers’ huge trade-deadline pickup, earned his first win as a Tiger, after pitching an ideal eighth inning. He got here in with the leadoff runner on, and acquired three fast outs, one on a strikeout.

With no person warming up within the bullpen, he seemingly would’ve gone out within the ninth for a six-out save, till the rain got here ― in sheets, and seemingly out of nowhere.

“We’ll never know,” Hinch stated 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 within 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 proper off Tigers starter Chris Paddack, a day after Montgomery hit a viral 452-foot blast.

Montgomery, a top-40 prospect getting into the season, already has 10 homers, his newest on a Paddack change-up.

“That was the one I want back,” Paddack stated. “But, you know, overall man, I felt great.”

That was all of the injury executed off Paddack, the long-haired right-hander making his third begin with Detroit. He allowed some arduous contact, however simply three hits to go along with a stroll, whereas hanging out 4 over his 5.2 innings. Hinch took him out regardless of throwing simply 74 pitches, 52 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 20 batters he confronted.

But Hinch wished lefty Tyler Holton in opposition to lefty Andrew Benintendi, and it labored, as Holton acquired him to fly out.

“He had plenty in the tank,” Hinch stated of Paddack, “and he did his job.

“It was a superb high quality begin for him.”

Paddack, on the relievers who came after him: “Those are large zeroes.”

Torkelson, on Paddack and Co.: “I imply, unbelievable.”

Before the Torkelson homer, the Tigers had managed simply 5 hits, all singles, and only one after the fourth inning ― Javy Baez’s leadoff single within the eighth, solely to be instantly erased on Gleyber Torres’ double play. (Torres struck out in his different three at-bats, his first three-Ok recreation as a Tiger.) Before the Baez single, 10 Tigers had been retired in a row.

The Tigers did little in opposition to their former teammate, Tyler Alexander, who entered in aid of Puguero (Elvis had left the ballgame; sorry) after he made his first big-league begin. Alxander gave up two hits and a stroll whereas hanging out 5.

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.

More: Tigers notes: Perez back in starting lineup; Kahnle drops down depth chart

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 really feel like that was a bit inevitable in an extended season, to sort of undergo a tricky stretch,” Torkelson said, after the Tigers closed out the win in a window just long enough to get it done before another delay. “I believe we’re simply taking it daily, making an attempt to win each single day.

“We’re a really good team.”

A group with, at the least in Torkelson’s case Monday evening, some darn good intention ― and a few good timing.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984