AP Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast
BY JAY COHEN : -(AP) Updated 5:24 PM EDT, March 30, 2024
CHICAGO (AP) — Carson Kelly hit run-scoring singles in the seventh inning and 10th innings, helping the Detroit Tigers rally for a 7-6 victory over Luis Robert Jr. and the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
Mark Canha and Riley Greene homered for the Tigers, who beat Chicago 1-0 on opening day Thursday. Parker Meadows reached three times from the leadoff spot and robbed Martín Maldonado of a home run with a leaping grab in center.
Canha was the automatic runner on second in the 10th when Kelly hit a grounder back up the middle against Deivi García (0-1), putting Detroit ahead to stay. Kelly also drove in Canha with a two-out single in the seventh, tying it at 6.
Shelby Miller (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.
Robert hit a pair of two-run homers and Braden Shewmake also connected for Chicago, which managed just three singles in the opener. Michael Soroka pitched five innings of four-run ball in his White Sox debut.
Robert hit a 449-foot shot to left on the 10th pitch of his at-bat against Kenta Maeda in the first. He came up again in the third and drove Maeda’s eighth pitch deep to left-center, lifting the White Sox to a 5-3 lead. The All-Star center fielder went 3 for 4 with a walk in his sixth career multihomer game.
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Maeda was tagged for six runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings in his first start for Detroit. The Japanese right-hander agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract as a free agent.
Detroit trailed 6-3 before Canha connected with two outs in the fifth. Greene led off the seventh with a drive to center against Dominic Leone, setting the stage for Kelly’s big hit.
Chicago loaded the bases in the bottom half on three walks, but Will Vest got Eloy Jiménez to bounce into a double play. First baseman Spencer Torkelson made a nice scoop on third baseman Zach McKinstry’s throw, ending the inning.
BIG SWING
Shewmake went deep on the first pitch he saw in the second inning in his Chicago debut. He became the first White Sox player to hit a home run for his first major league hit since Zack Collins at Texas on June 21, 2019.
Shewmake and Soroka were acquired in a November trade that sent reliever Aaron Bummer to Atlanta.
UP NEXT
Right-handers Jack Flaherty and Erick Fedde start the series finale on Sunday. The 28-year-old Flaherty is making his Detroit debut after signing a $14 million, one-year contract. The 31-year-old Fedde finalized a $15 million, two-year contract with Chicago in December after pitching in South Korea last season.
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Carson Kelly hits RBI single in the 10th as the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 7-6
