Tigers overcome slow start by offense to beat White Sox, 4-1

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on Jun 20, 2026

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — It all worked out in the end.

The Detroit Tigers, held hitless for 42/3 innings, rallied late to beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1, Saturday at Comerica Park.

Kevin McGonigle produced the first hit, a single off lefty Joe Rock with two outs in the fifth. That advanced Zack McKinstry to third, setting up Dillon Dingler’s tying RBI single.

Dingler, who leads the major leagues with 32 two-out RBIs, added his 17th homer of the year in the seventh, a 430-foot blast to center.

They scored two more off Rock in the sixth on RBI singles by James Outman and Jake Rogers.

But just a couple of innings before that, the faithful were expressing their displeasure. The pinch-hitting thing is starting to gnaw at them.

Coming into this series, the Tigers led baseball in pinch-hit attempts but were 29th with a .126 average and .443 OPS in those plate appearances. What was a fundamental strength the last two seasons has become a struggle and a flashpoint.

Jahmai Jones has become the face of this struggle. He has one role on the team and that is to hit left-handed pitching. He had a .980 OPS against lefties last season and gave manager AJ Hinch a reliable and respected matchup tool.

But when Hinch chose to send Jones up to bat for Kerry Carpenter with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning, countering the White Sox who brought in lefty Rock, the fans booed.

It’s been a very different year for Jones.

He broke an 0-for-21 skid with a single Friday night, but was hitting just .177 with a .552 OPS against lefties. And the boos intensified when Jones struck out.

It’s a dicey situation. Playing the matchups and winning on the margins is how the Tigers are built. Jones is out of minor-league options and the Tigers have been patiently waiting for him to find his groove.

But, as we said, it worked out.

Outman, who replaced Jones and took over in center field, ended up delivering the go-ahead knock in the sixth.

And the pitching was stellar.

Troy Melton gave up a home run to Sam Antonacci on his second pitch of the game. It was the only hit he allowed in six strong innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Tyler Holton, who has allowed one run in his last nine innings of work, pitched two scoreless innings and Kenley Jansen earned his ninth save of the season.

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