White Sox Beat Tigers, 7-3
DETROIT (AP) — Yoan Moncada hit a mammoth home run in the first inning, and the Chicago White Sox eventually broke the game open with five runs in the seventh on the way to a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
Carlos Rodon (3-2) allowed a run and three hits in six innings for Chicago, which was without manager Rick Renteria and shortstop Tim Anderson. Those two were serving suspensionsfor their actions during Wednesday's bench-clearing fracas against Kansas City.
Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire didn't make it to the end of the game either. He was ejected in the fifth inning for having words with plate umpire Todd Tichenor after Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann (0-3) walked in a run to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead.
Josh Harrison, Grayson Greiner and Niko Goodrum homered for Detroit's three runs, but it was Moncada's drive in the first that stood out. His home run , which may have had some help from the wind on a blustery night at Comerica Park, carried beyond the two rows of bushes above the wall in center field. It went 458 feet, according to Statcast.
Zimmermann came into the game averaging the fewest walks per nine innings (1.91) of any active pitcher with at least 1,000 innings. He wasn't sharp enough on this night, though. He walked four, one shy of his career high, and allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Moncada drew a walk with the bases loaded in the fifth, and although Zimmermann looked frustrated and Gardenhire was thrown out of the game, a replay showed that ball four indeed appeared to miss the plate.
In the seventh, Zimmermann was pulled after allowing a two-run single to Leury Garcia. Jose Abreu added a two-run double off reliever Daniel Stumpf to make it 6-1, and Yonder Alonso followed with an RBI single.
Greiner's homer in the bottom of the seventh was the first of his career.
Bench coaches Joe McEwing and Steve Liddle took over the managerial duties for Renteria and Gardenhire.
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