LDN - Sports

Tigers top White Sox on Upton's 11th-inning HR

[September 06, 2016] CHICAGO -- Detroit Tigers left fielder Justin Upton savors stepping to the plate with the game on the line.

"That's what you live for," Upton said. "That's what you play the game for is the big moment where you can help your team out."

For the second consecutive game, Upton delivered. He drilled a three-run homer in the 11th inning to power the Detroit Tigers to a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday afternoon.

The blast came one day after Upton smacked a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning to lead the Tigers to a win over Kansas City. Detroit (75-62) has won six of its past seven games and is tied with Baltimore for the second wild-card playoff spot in the American League.

"Any time you play meaningful baseball in September, it makes it a lot more fun," Upton said. "We're enjoying the ride."

Miguel Cabrera finished 4-for-5 with two home runs as the Tigers improved to 5-3 in extra innings. Detroit beat the White Sox for the 12th time in 17 games this season.

Avisail Garcia went 3-for-5 with a double, a run and an RBI to lead the White Sox. Chicago (65-72) has lost six of its last eight games and is 13-32 against American League Central opponents since May 23.

"One of the things I always harped about is you have to beat the teams in your division," White Sox catcher Alex Avila said. "We've struggled with that this year, and that's the main reason why we're in the position we're in."

Tigers right-hander Alex Wilson (2-0) picked up the victory with one scoreless relief inning.

White Sox right-hander Chris Beck (1-1) sustained the loss after allowing Upton's go-ahead home run with two outs in the 11th inning. Upton hit a towering shot to right-center field for his 21st home run.

Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez got the final three outs while allowing a run to pick up his 39th save of the season. He passed John Franco to move into fourth place in major league history with 425 career saves.

Detroit right-hander Justin Verlander set a career high with his 11th consecutive quality start but did not factor into the decision. Verlander limited the White Sox to two runs and eight hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out 11 to secure his sixth career 200-strikeout season and his first since 2013.

"I had good stuff, I had good control of most of my pitches," Verlander said. "I felt like they had some pretty good at-bats on me, but I was able to execute when I needed to."

White Sox left-hander Chris Sale also got a no-decision despite pitching at least eight innings for the fourth straight start. Sale held the Tigers to two runs and six hits in eight innings. He walked none and struck out eight before exiting the game at 118 pitches.

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Tigers left fielder Justin Upton (8) watches his three-run home run in the eleventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Cabrera's first blast of the game. Cabrera ripped a pitch on the outside corner to the opposite field for his 300th home run with the Tigers. He joined Al Kaline (399), Norm Cash (373) and Hank Greenberg (306) as the only players in club history to reach the milestone.

Cabrera homered again in the third to increase the Tigers' lead to 2-0. His shot to left-center field marked his 38th career multi-homer game and his fifth of the season.

Sale said Cabrera ranked among the best hitters in the game.

"You can't deny that," Sale said. "Look on the back of that (baseball) card, and there's pretty awesome numbers."

The White Sox cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third on a single by Tyler Saladino.

Avila evened the score at 2 with a solo home run in the seventh inning.

After Upton's home run put Detroit up 5-2, the White Sox scored a run in the 11th to pull within two runs. Garcia drove in Todd Frazier with a single to center field.

NOTES: Detroit recalled SS Dixon Machado from Triple-A Toledo before Monday's game. ... White Sox RHP Miguel Gonzalez will be activated from the 15-day disabled list in time to start Tuesday against Detroit, manager Robin Ventura said. Gonzalez has been out since Aug. 12 because of a strained right groin. ... Tigers 2B Ian Kinsler was held out of the starting lineup one day after a hard-hit ground ball ripped the nail off his right middle finger. He scored a run as a pinch runner. ... White Sox RHP James Shields could miss his next start because of a bad back. If Shields is unable to pitch Friday against Kansas City, RHP Anthony Ranaudo could start in his place. ... Tigers OF Cameron Maybin returned to the lineup after missing five games with an injured left thumb.

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