White Sox walk-off could raise the stakes of matchup with playoff-chasing Tigers
The Chicago White Sox are clinging to the edge of a cliff. One wrong move and they'll fall down into the chasm of unfortunate history — The most losses in modern MLB history. They're holding on by their fingertips, but they are indeed holding on.
And we might get an epic edition of Friday night baseball because of it.
On Wednesday, the White Sox avoided loss No. 121 by walking off the Angels. Andrew Benintendi did the honors in the bottom of the 10th, singling to left center to drive home Miguel Vargas from second.
Chicago is one win away from a sweep, which they haven't accomplished since April against the Rays. If they survive one more, they'll head to Detroit for an unexpectedly juicy matchup with the Tigers.
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White Sox and Tigers may both have something to play for on Friday
The Detroit Tigers are the story of the playoff chase. They were nine-games out of a postseason spot in late August. They've surged into one of the AL Wild Card places. They'll have the chance to sweep the Rays on Thursday and could clinch a playoff berth as early as Friday. That's when the White Sox are coming to town.
We can just see it now. The Tigers vs. the White Sox, one team seeking the playoffs and the other seeking a reprieve from infamy. Chicago has already decided to move Garrett Crochet's start back to Friday so the White Sox can give Detroit their best shot.
"With Detroit where they’re at, I think it’s gonna make for good baseball," Sizemore told reporters on Wednesday. "They’re gonna be competing for a playoff spot. We wanna throw our best guy up against this team that’s fighting for a playoff spot. These are our rivals."
It would take a minor miracle for the White Sox to avoid loss No. 121 over these final four games. Then again, it felt like it would take a minor miracle for the Tigers to be fighting for a Wild Card berth back in August. There won't be Angels players in the outfield on Friday but maybe there will be Angels of a different sort.
In the immortal words of Milton Davis Jr's J.P., "It could happen."