Detroit Tigers climb back to .500 with 6-3 win vs. White Sox in Ty Madden's MLB debut
CHICAGO — Detroit Tigers right-hander Ty Madden limited the Chicago White Sox to two runs over five innings in his MLB debut.
His teammates supported him in the seventh inning: Parker Meadows ripped a line-drive home run to tie the game, Jace Jung delivered the go-ahead single, and Spencer Torkelson padded the lead with a mammoth three-run home run on his 25th birthday.
Most importantly, the Tigers reached a .500 record for the first time since June 5.
The Tigers swept the White Sox with a 6-3 win in Monday's finale of a four-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field. A five-run seventh inning made the difference, with several young players contributing.
Once again, the Tigers (66-66) took advantage of the putrid White Sox, shaping up to be the worst team in modern baseball history. The White Sox (31-101) are on pace for 124 losses.
Next up, the Tigers will try to surpass .500 for the first time since June 4.
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In Monday's game, Madden took the mound for the first time in his MLB career. He was impressive, in the first of what should be at least three or four starts, especially considering he had a 7.97 ERA in 18 starts with Triple-A Toledo before the promotion.
Madden, whom the Tigers selected with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2021 draft, allowed one run apiece in the first and third innings, but he avoided further damage in those frames. The 24-year-old allowed two runs (one earned run) on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts, throwing 87 pitches.
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COMING UP: Tigers promote Ty Madden from Triple-A Toledo to start vs. White Sox in MLB debut
The White Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead on Andrew Vaughn's sacrifice fly in the first inning, but the only reason Vaughn stepped to the plate was because of Torkelson's fielding error with two outs. Therefore, the first run wasn't charged to Madden's tab.
In the third inning, the White Sox put their first two batters on base with a single and a walk, but Madden didn't give in. He battled for back-to-back outs before Vaughn hit an inside fastball for an RBI single to right field, making it 2-0.
In the other three innings, Madden worked around a single in the second, a single in the fourth and a walk in the fifth. He got Vaughn to pop out on a first-pitch cutter, located down and away, to conclude his first start in the big leagues.
Supporting Madden
The Tigers collected double-digit hits in each of the four games against the White Sox: 10 hits in Friday's 5-2 win, 14 hits in Saturday's 13-4 win, 14 hits in Sunday's 9-4 win and 13 hits in Monday's 6-3 win.
The first run in Monday's win came in the fifth inning, thanks to three consecutive two-out singles from Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling and Colt Keith. The single from Keith trimmed the Tigers' deficit to 2-1, setting the table for a breakthrough seventh inning.
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In the seventh, the Tigers torched left-handed reliever Jared Shuster.
Meadows opened the inning by hitting Shuster's down-and-in fastball in a full count for a solo home run. The solo homer tied the game, 2-2. With one out, Matt Vierling walked and Keith singled, and then Jung smacked a first-pitch sinker to left field for an RBI single, taking a 3-2 lead.
The White Sox swapped Shuster with right-handed reliever Justin Anderson for a matchup with Torkelson. On the third pitch, Torkelson made the White Sox pay by hammering a hanging slider for a 439-foot home run to center field, making it 6-2.
After Madden, the Tigers turned to left-hander Sean Guenther, right-hander Beau Brieske and left-hander Tyler Holton out of the bullpen. The White Sox scored their third and final run when Andrew Benintendi hit a home run off Brieske, but Holton shut them down in the ninth inning for his fifth save.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers back to .500 on Torkelson HR in 6-3 win over White Sox
