CHICAGO – Left fielder Robbie Grossman dropped Luis Robert's short fly with two outs in the eighth to end his record errorless streak at 440 games and set up two unearned Chicago runs that snapped a tie, lifting the White Sox to a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Robert reached second when Grossman raced in and the ball bounced off his glove and fell in. The 32-year-old outfielder hadn't made an error since June 13, 2018, while with Minnesota, setting a major league record for a position player.
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“I missed a pop-up and it's a terrible play on my part,” Grossman said. “It's a play I should be able to make and I'll make it the next time it comes to me.”
The sun was in Grossman's eyes, but he said that wasn't a factor.
“It's a day game and I'm not going to make excuses," he said.
After Jose Abreu was intentionally walked, pinch-hitter A.J. Pollock hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single that got past the reach of second baseman Jonathan Schoop to score Robert from second and put Chicago ahead 3-2. Eloy Jiménez followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2.
Both hits were off All-Star reliever Gregory Soto and lifted Chicago to its second straight win.
“Guy has really good stuff,” said Pollock, a right-handed hitter who entered to face Soto, a lefty. “Super quick to the dish. He beat me a little bit, but the at-bat was good and I was able to sneak something through there.”
Gavin Sheets homered and had two hits for the second straight game. His solo shot in the sixth tied it at 2. Yoán Moncada had an RBI single in the fifth.
“We just needed a spark offensively," Sheets said. “It was big to be able to do it there and have a big at-bat and kind of get the energy back up and get things going.”
Javier Báez hit a two-run homer for the Tigers, who dropped their second straight following a six-game winning streak.
Kendall Graveman (3-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Liam Hendriks tossed a perfect ninth for his 17th save.
Michael Fulmer (2-3) took the loss.
Báez played his first seven-plus seasons with the crosstown Cubs and was booed by South Side fans before each plate appearance. The shortstop took his time leaving the batter’s box when he went deep in the first and watched his ninth homer sail into the left field bullpen.
Chicago starter Michael Kopech settled in after Báez’s blast and allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
“Kopie was awesome for us,” Sheets said. “He battled and got us five or six great innings.”
Kopech has struggled since a fluid buildup in his right knee forced him to leave in the first inning against Texas on June 12. The right-hander has a 6.15 ERA since that outing.
Detroit spot starter Drew Hutchison allowed two runs and five hits in six innings, his longest outing since July 7, 2016.
Kopech’s first five pitches missed the strike zone. The right-hander’s sixth might have been high and inside, but the free-swinging Baez turned on it for a 2-0 Detroit lead.
Moncada’s RBI single in the fifth cut it to 2-1. Sheets homered to right-center on Hutchison’s full-count pitch with two outs in the sixth to tie it.
TIGERS MOVE
Detroit recalled RHP Drew Carlton was recalled from Triple-A Toledo and optioned RHP Garrett Hill. Hill started against the White Sox on Saturday, allowing six runs in the first two innings in an 8-0 loss.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: RHP Rony Garcia (right shoulder soreness) will throw a bullpen session on Monday. He joined Detroit’s rotation in late May, then experienced a “pinch” in his shoulder when throwing on the side following a start on June 29.
White Sox: Shortstop Tim Anderson, a starter for the AL in the All-Star Game, got the day off. Leury Garcia took his place in the lineup. Manager Tony La Russa said Anderson will get another day off before the break “because he’s very active on his legs” in playing his position. ... Jiménez started in left on Sunday after getting Saturday off as he works his way back from surgery for a hamstring tendon tear. ... Coaches and training staff checked on Kopech with one out in the second inning, but he remained in the game
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Michael Pineda (2-3, 3.62) starts the first game of a doubleheader on Monday in Kansas City and RHP Alex Faedo (1-4, 5.04) starts the second.
White Sox: RHP Lance Lynn (1-1, 5.33) takes the mound Monday at Cleveland as Chicago opens an eight-game road trip against the Indians and Twins, the AL Central rivals it hopes to catch in the division.
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