CHICAGO — After a 3-3 homestand that featured Ozzie Guillén’s number retirement ceremony and a pope hat giveaway, the Chicago White Sox headed out for their biggest trip in five years following Thursday’s 9-8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

A three-game showdown in Detroit begins Friday, followed by Round 2 of the City Series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

It’s a significant test for a young Sox team thrust into a pennant race and comes at a time when the rotation is in flux and key players such as Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters are struggling. The momentum from the series win against the Cleveland Guardians was lost after the Cincy series.

“There’s a reason we only have one four-game losing streak,” starter Davis Martin said. “We just do a really good job of segmenting series, compartmentalizing each series into what it is. It’s a kick in the teeth. You pick yourself up tomorrow and do it again.”

Here are some hot-button topics heading into the Motown showdown.

Brouhaha erupts

Martin was ejected in the third inning Thursday after throwing two pitches at the head of Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, who had homered in the first inning. The second one grazed the bill of Stewart”s helmet and sent it flying. Stewart then walked out of the box and yelled at Martin: “Hey, (bleep), that’s twice.”

Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches were thrown. After a brief huddle by the umpires, plate ump and crew chief Alan Porter ejected Martin without any warning issued.

Porter told a pool reporter that it was a judgment call based on several things, including Stewart admiring his home run. He gave Martin the benefit of the doubt on the first close pitch, then deemed the second one as intentional.

“The (first) pitch went well above his head, but (was) definitely in his direction,” Porter said. “And then he hit him with the next pitch, and at that point we needed to do what we needed to do to keep the game safe, basically.”

Martin said there was no intent, pointing to a blister on his middle finger that caused him to lose his grip.

“Made eye contact (with Stewart), said ‘My bad,' ” he said of the first pitch. “I had no intention of doing that. The second one we were trying to drive a fastball down and away to reset and just lost it again. Blister on the finger, probably lost a little bit of a grip there.”

Added manager Will Venable: “I understand the position the umpires are in, but there’s no intent.”

Venable mentioned the blister as an issue, but it was after Martin had been ejected. The location of the pitches made it look like intent.

“Anything above the waist would raise the eyebrows, and the higher up you go, a little bit higher,” Porter said.

Martin’s blues

Martin was pitching on short rest after starting and throwing only one inning Sunday in a rain-interrupted game against the Guardians. He allowed three first-inning runs on two home runs Thursday, continuing a trend: Martin now has a 6.00 ERA in first innings this season.

“I think it’s a blip,” he said. “I’ve had times this year where the first inning has been dominant and then it’s just one of those deals where you think about it too much, it’s going to become a thing. Just continue to do my routine, do my due diligence, attack the zone and hope good things happen.”

But Venable said Martin is “struggling, no two ways about it,” and needs to find a solution.

“Obviously the first inning has been tough for him to get through the top of the order,” he said. “We’ve seen some runs scored early. I’ve seen him settle down after that, but he’s got to go to work and figure out how to get back on track.

Venable said the blister would be monitored but that Martin would make his next start against the Cubs.

Erick Fedde took over, leaving the Sox without a starter for Friday. Venable did not immediately announce one after the game. Fedde struggled as well, giving up four runs in the fourth inning.

Tanner McDougal made his major league debut in the sixth. After retiring the first hitter, he loaded the bases on three walks and hit Eugenio Suárez to force in a run. The Sox lost two of three to the lowly Reds after blowing a 4-0 lead in Game 1.

“We were in a position to win that Game 1, had some funky stuff going today,” Venable said. “Kind of a tough series … some tough stuff that went on. But 3-3 on the homestand, it could be a lot worse with the way things unfolded.”

The Tigers were 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Guardians on June 6 and are 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Sox heading into the series.

Colson Montgomery drops down

Venable moved Montgomery down to the No. 6 spot in the order. Montgomery came in hitting .189 with six home runs and 71 strikeouts in 169 at-bats since June 19.

Venable said he told Montgomery: “Hey, move you down a spot or two in the order. No big deal. Just want to take a little pressure off you to be the guy right there in the middle.” Venable said Montgomery was “still an important part of this lineup” and didn’t want him to fell “he had to do anything more than get back on line and be more like himself.”

Montgomery came up as the potential tying run in the ninth and had a long flyout to right, ending the day 0 for 5.

Mystery ball

The outfield statue of former White Sox greats Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio turning a double play has been missing a major part — the ball. Sculptor Oscar Leon made the statue with the ball attached to the right hand of Fox, who was flipping it to Aparicio.

The Sox don’t know if the metal ball was removed by someone or just fell off and somebody took it. A spokesperson said they are working with a sculptor to put a new ball in Fox’s hand.

Magic gone?

Guillen, the White Sox analyst, made it a point on Wednesday’s postgame show to criticize the Chicago Sports Network, biting the hand that feeds him. He suggested the producers of the Sox telecasts focus too much on the magic wand in the dugout.

Guillen said he has no problem with wand wizard Mike Vasil, who created the shtick, but blamed his station for showing it after every home run. “Where was it in Boston?” he said, referring to the Red Sox’s three-game sweep. Guillen’s partner, Chuck Garfein, argued that it’s all in good fun and most Sox fans enjoy the magic wand.

The Sox are handing out 20,000 magic wands to fans at the Sept. 4 game against the Minnesota Twins.

Time change

The Sox and Reds agreed to move up the start of the game one hour because of the threat of rain, which began in the bottom of the fifth inning and continued the rest of the day. The time change was announced shortly after 10 a.m., giving fans short notice to get there earlier. A crowd of 17,013 turned out.

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