The curious case of Matthew Boyd plays on.
Boyd at times looked like the second coming of Cliff Lee Sunday. He was working quickly, assuredly, attacking the strike zone with a variety of pitches, including a fastball that hit 95 mph and breaking ball that floated in at 74.
He breezed through the first two innings, throwing 31 pitches, 22 strikes, with three strikeouts and eight swings and misses.
Detroit Tigers starter Matthew Boyd had almost escaped an ugly third inning with limited damage when Chicago White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson launched a two-out, three-run home run on a 3-2 count.
The White Sox scored five off Boyd in the third and beat the Tigers 7-1 Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Other than the third, Boyd threw five scoreless innings. In total, he allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts over six innings. After struggling so mightily recently, the outing likely earned him another start.
White Sox starter Lucas Giolito was rarely threatened by the Tigers until the seventh. There was no such vagary in the performance of White Sox rookie right-hander Lucas Giolito. He was dominant, blanking the Tigers on three hits for seven innings.
Mikie Mahtook snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a triple in the second inning. JaCoby Jones, just recalled from Toledo, slapped a single and then was caught stealing in the third.
The Tigers loaded the bases and shortstop Jose Iglesias lifted a high fly ball down the left field line that third base umpire Nick Mahrley initially ruled a home run (and, thus, a grand slam). But the Tigers celebrated tepidly, knowing the call would be overturned. Sure enough, the umpires huddled and ruled the ball fair. The Tigers didn't even put up a mild protest. Iglesias then grounded out to end the inning.
Ian Kinsler hit his 14th home run of the season the next inning.
NOTABLE
Boyd has been vexed by the third inning this year, allowing 31 earned runs in 17 innings (16.41 ERA).
In all other innings combined, he's allowed 38 earned runs in 81 1/3 innings for an ERA of 4.20.
Rookie right-hander Zac Reininger, who started the season in High-A Lakeland, made his Major-League debut in the eighth inning. It didn?t go as he might?ve dreamed. He allowed three singles, a walk and two runs ? singles by Jose Abreu and Garcia, a sacrifice fly by Kevan Smith and an RBI single by Yolmer Sanchez.
He ended the inning by getting Adam Engel looking.
The Tigers' offense was quieted by Lucas Giolito, who was making his second MLB start this season.
The Tigers are 3-12-4 in their last 19 road series.
With the loss, the Tigers are 56-73.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/tigers-...041#game_state=final,game_tab=box,game=492041
Boxscore.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
"Matty D" > "Matty B": The battle between the "Matty-" based Player's Weekend nicknames came to a head in the third inning. With a pair on and two runs already across and two outs, White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson took a 3-2, 92.6-mph fastball from Boyd deep to right field for a three-run homer. The shot, which left the yard at 104.5 mph and traveled 403 feet, according to Statcast?, was Davidson's first home run since a right wrist injury sent him to the DL at the beginning of August. Davidson now has 23 homers in his rookie season.
Juuuust Foul: After a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs for the Tigers against Giolito in the seventh, Jose Iglesias appeared to have hit a grand slam down the left-field line that would have cut the deficit to 5-4 and likely knocked the White Sox rookie out of the game. However, after third-base umpire Nick Mahrley initially ruled that Iglesias' batted ball went fair, first-base umpire and crew chief Jim Reynolds summoned the umpires. The group conferred, and the call was overturned without a review. Iglesias would ground out to end the inning and keep it 5-0.
ROARS:
Mikie Mahtook - one of the only Tigers to get on base early in the game, he managed both a triple and a walk.
John Hicks - kept things interesting into the ninth, and another player with a multi-hit night.
HISSES:
Matt Boyd - not great.
Foul poles. Boo.
STREAKS & INFO:
Not an ideal streak to be on, for John Hicks. Second HBP in four days.
As for Kinsler?s HR, it continues an interesting trend for the second baseman.
Pretty insane all 14 of Kinsler's HRs are solo. I wonder if a player has finished the season with 15+ HRs in which all were solo shots?