As two of the biggest pitching surprises of the 2024 season, Erick Fedde and Jack Flaherty performed like they knew their margin of error was relatively low. The White Sox and Tigers offenses entered this weekend ranked in the bottom 10 of Major League Baseball entering tonight, so the expectation was another low-scoring affair. Flaherty came in on a heater, not allowing a run in his previous three starts, and Fedde had only walked one batter in June.
The White Sox had a good scoring opportunity in the first inning thanks to a two-out rally sparked by a Luis Robert Jr. walk. Gavin Sheets hit a hard grounder through the infield for a single, and after a wild pitch from Flaherty, both he and Robert were in scoring position for Andrew Vaughn. But Vaughn whiffing on a knuckle curve in the dirt ended that threat.
Fedde wasn’t so lucky in the second inning. Justyn-Henry Malloy hit his second double of the season and would trot home on Carson Kelly’s no-doubter to left. The two-run shot was Kelly’s fourth homer of the season, and it traveled 412 feet out to left field.
Flaherty was on cruise control going into the fifth inning. After striking out Lenyn Sosa, he had to navigate around Tommy Pham with two outs. On a first-pitch changeup, Pham wasn’t fooled. Pulling the offspeed pitch down the left field line at an exit velocity of 112.4 MPH was enough juice for a solo home run. Pham’s fourth homer of the season snapped Flaherty’s three-start scoreless streak and gave him his first home run allowed in almost a month.
Another two-out rally by the White Sox was brewing in the sixth inning. Vaughn singled on a 2-2 fastball, and Flaherty lost control briefly, walking Oscar Colas on four pitches. That was enough for Tigers manager AJ Hinch to pull Flaherty, opting for reliever Beau Briekse to face Paul DeJong. DeJong lined out deep to center field on the first pitch, ending the threat and Flaherty’s night. On 98 pitches, Flaherty went 5.2 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 8 K, lowering his season ERA to 2.92.
Meanwhile, Fedde allowed just one hit after the second inning, and that single to Riley Greene was wiped out by a double play. Retiring his last 11 batters faced in order, Fedde finished strong on 92 pitches, going 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, and his season ERA is now 3.05.
Still down 2-1 heading into the ninth, DeJong reached when hit on the elbow by a pitch from Tigers closer Jason Foley. With Korey Lee’s spot up, manager Pedro Grifol had Andrew Benintendi pitch hit with one out. But DeJong forgot how many outs there were, and was nowhere near first when center fielder Matt Vierling caught Benintendi's liner. To the surprise of Vierling, who was relatively calm after making the catch, his throw to shortstop Ryan Kreidler started the game-ending 8-6-3 double play.
An embarrassing way to lose a game. But for a team that’s 20-57 for the season, and now 1-17 against division rivals Detroit, Minnesota, and Kansas City, it’s just another night.
Game Notes
- The White Sox hitters only mustered six hits but they did make hard contact with 13 balls into play at an exit velocity greater than 95 MPH, with eight of those over 100 MPH.
- Pham had a good night to improve his trade probability, going 2-for-4 with a home run and stolen base.
- John Brebbia pitched another scoreless inning in relief. In 10 appearances this month, Brebbia has a 1.04 ERA with 14 strikeouts and one walk.
