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Miguel Cabrera leads Detroit Tigers to 10-0 win over White Sox with four-hit performance
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- Miguel Cabrera leads Detroit Tigers to 10-0 win over White Sox with four-hit performance
CHICAGO — The Detroit Tigers wouldn't stop hitting.
As right-hander Reese Olson tossed seven scoreless innings, the Tigers' offense tallied a season-high 18 hits (plus three walks) in Saturday's 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox in the second of three games in the series at Guaranteed Rate Field.
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The Tigers (62-74) won their third game in a row, clinched the weekend series on the South Side and locked in a winning record against the American League Central (at 27-15) for the first time since 2016.
"We're proud of that because we play each of these teams very well," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "We need to clean up some things against other teams, and we have a lot of work to do, but if you're going to win your division and start pushing this in the right direction to where we want to get to, that's an ingredient."
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Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera runs the bases during the first inning on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Chicago.
In the first two innings, the Tigers scored six runs on eight hits. All eight hits occurred with two outs: Spencer Torkelson , Miguel Cabrera , Kerry Carpenter , Andre Lipcius and Parker Meadows in the first inning; Akil Baddoo , Zach McKinstry and Torkelson in the second inning.
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Cabrera put the Tigers ahead, 1-0, with an RBI double off White Sox right-hander Mike Clevinger 's first-pitch fastball. A two-run home run from Lipcius — in the first start and second game of his MLB career — extended the lead to 4-0.
Lipcius hit a two-strike slider from Clevinger for a 399-foot homer to left-center field.
"It's September," Hinch said, when asked about the Tigers' tradition in the clubhouse to celebrate Lipcius' first home run. "The boys have been waiting for some of these, and they're going to make it memorable for him."
The Tigers then received two-out, run-scoring hits from Torkelson (double) and Cabrera (single) to take an 8-0 advantage.
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Cabrera drove in the Tigers' ninth run, for a 9-0 lead, off right-handed reliever Luis Patiño with two outs in the sixth inning. He also reached on an infield single in the eighth inning before being pulled off the field, replaced by pinch-runner Carson Kelly , because of the lopsided scoreboard.
Kelly came around to score for a 10-0 advantage.
"We were aggressive with him," Cabrera said of the attack plan against Clevinger. "We didn't wait for him to go first-pitch strike and be nasty after that. Our game today was aggressive, trying to swing at first-pitch strikes. That's what we did today. It's why we got a lot of hits."
Cabrera finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs in Saturday's game, putting him at 3,158 hits in his 21-year MLB career. It marked his first four-hit game since Sept. 8, 2021, against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
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The 40-year-old — batting .257 in 81 games this season — passed George Brett with his first-inning double and is eight hits away from tying Adrián Beltré for 17th on MLB's all-time list.
"My approach today was swing at first-pitch strikes, be aggressive in the count," Cabrera said. "Last three or four games, I've been taking first pitch strikes. In that position, I said I'm going to be aggressive and try to make contact."
Cabrera won't start in Sunday's series finale.
"He's off tomorrow," Hinch said. "We have a pretty regimented schedule, so he'll enjoy tonight. He will have at least a start off, but I may pinch-hit him tomorrow. He'll be ready to go."
Clevinger, who entered Saturday with a 3.32 ERA in 18 starts, surrendered eight runs on 12 hits — without issuing a walk — in four innings, throwing 52 of 71 pitches for strikes. He had seven whiffs and 11 called strikes.
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The Tigers racked up at least 10 hits for the 41st time this season; they're 31-10 when when doing so.
"We hit some mistake pitches," Hinch said of Clevinger. "He made some mistakes over the plate, and we moved the ball pretty aggressively in play. We'll see him in five or six days. I think he's scheduled to pitch when we're at our place, so don't get too greedy. He's a quality pitcher, but he had a rough night tonight."
Reese's peace
Catcher Jake Rogers was the only member of the Tigers' starting lineup who failed to reach base safely, but he was phenomenal behind the plate while calling Olson's seven-inning gem.
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Generally, Olson relies on strikeouts for his outs.
This time, the 24-year-old generated one strikeout and seven whiffs.
"They came out pretty aggressive, so I got some quick outs," Olson said. "I had a great defense behind me turning a bunch of double plays. A few hard-hit balls happened to find gloves. Pretty good game with trying to be more efficient compared to my last one."
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Reese Olson (45) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.
The White Sox didn't get a hit off Olson until Oscar Colás ripped a first-pitch fastball for a leadoff single in the third inning. The inning ended two batters later, when Tim Anderson grounded into a double play on Olson's down-and-away changeup.
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Andrew Benintendi 's leadoff single in the fourth was erased when Andrew Vaughn grounded into a double play, and Yoan Moncada 's leadoff single in the fifth was erased when Gavin Sheets grounded into a double play.
In the seventh, Trayce Thompson 's leadoff single was eliminated when Eloy Jimenez grounded to Lipcius at third to start a fourth double play.
"He's learning how to navigate innings," Hinch said. "He has an ultra-aggressive team on the other side, and he continued to throw quality pitches and keep the ball on the ground. When he gave up a hit, he got the next ball on the ground for the double play. He's calm in the competition, which is important. He's got weapons, which is even more important. And he's not afraid."
Detroit Tigers second baseman Andre Lipcius (27) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.
Olson faced 22 batters — one over the minimum — through seven innings, thanks to the defensive gems. Vaughn reached safely on Lipcius' fielding error in the first inning, in which the White Sox sent four batters to the plate.
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He threw 48 of 79 pitches for strikes.
"Awesome job," Olson said of Rogers' game-calling. "I have all the trust in the world with both of our guys back there, so I look forward to the next one."
Faedo featured
Right-handed reliever Miguel Diaz, making his season debut, fired a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts. He was followed by right-hander Alex Faedo, whom the Tigers recently moved to the bullpen.
It was Faedo's first relief appearance in his MLB career.
The 27-year-old, who had a 4.98 ERA in 11 starts, retired all three batters in the bottom of the ninth inning, throwing nine of 13 pitches for strikes. His seven four-seam fastballs averaged 93.9 mph out of the bullpen, up from his 92.8 mph average as a starter this season.
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"The double plays we turned became instrumental," Hinch said. "Twenty-eight hitters, 27 outs. Pretty awesome."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers crush Chicago White Sox, 10-0, behind Miggy's 4 hits
