DETROIT — Kerry Carpenter continued his power surge by homering for the third time in two games, while Spencer Torkelson contributed both a home run and double in the Detroit Tigers’ 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. This win marks the Tigers’ fourth in their last five games, rebounding well after starting the season with three consecutive losses.
The Chicago White Sox, however, are enduring a challenging stretch, slumping to a 2-6 record following this fourth straight defeat. The team is experiencing woes reminiscent of last year, where an abysmal 1-9 season start set the groundwork for a historic 121-loss season, their worst since 1900. This season, they’ve struggled offensively, scoring two runs or fewer in four out of their last games.
Andrew Vaughn’s RBI double brought the White Sox a brief lead in the first inning, but Detroit quickly answered back. Riley Greene matched his effort with a tying single in the bottom half and later tapped home as Andy Ibáñez hit an RBI single off Reese Olson, who has now lost seven straight decisions since 2022.
Carpenter further extended Detroit’s advantage in the second inning with a homer that drove in Justyn-Henry Malloy. This added to his leading tally of eight RBIs for the season so far. Detroit displayed strong offensive depth as seven of their starters logged a hit, allowing the Tigers to notch seven runs against Chicago for the second game in a row.
In addition to Greene and Ibáñez, both Malloy and Trey Sweeney also contributed RBIs for the Tigers. Olson pitched effectively for Detroit, giving up two runs on seven hits across six innings and securing three strikeouts. His efforts were supplemented by relievers Beau Brieske and former White Sox pitcher John Brebbia, who closed the game without allowing any additional runs.
Chicago’s starting pitcher, who unfortunately surrendered seven runs and nine hits in five innings, struggled to contain Detroit’s hitters. Korey Lee provided a glimmer of offensive hope for Chicago with three hits, though the team only managed to go 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
A pivotal moment came when Torkelson hit his second home run of the season, securing a commanding 5-1 lead for Detroit in the third inning. A statistic of note: Chicago has permitted 28 runs over their last four games, a stark contrast to only five runs allowed during their initial quartet of games.
Looking ahead, Detroit will pitch rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe (0-0, 6.75 ERA) to close out the series on Sunday, while the White Sox will counter with left-hander Martín Pérez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) for the finale.