CHICAGO — Riley Greene talked before Saturday's game about getting back to his smooth, natural swing. He felt like he’d been trying to do too much, getting outside of himself, not letting the game just come to him.
Well, it came to him in the second inning against Chicago White Sox starter Lucas Giolito.
With the bases loaded and two outs, he stayed back on a first-pitch change-up and drove it to the base of the wall in left-center. All three runs scored on his double and, after the Tigers were shut out for the 16th time this season on Friday, it felt like the damn might’ve broke.
It didn’t.
The Tigers mustered just one more run and the White Sox stormed back to take a 6-4 win at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The pivotal play came in the bottom of the seventh. With the score tied 4-4, Jose Abreu legged out an infield single with one out against reliever Joe Jimenez. Yasmani Grandal followed with a 399-foot fly ball to center that Greene caught at the wall.
Abreu tagged and went to second. Greene made a strong throw right on the bag and shortstop Javier Báez applied a swift tag. At least he thought he did. Second base umpire and crew chief Jerry Layne called Abreu safe and a video review upheld the call.
Andrew Vaughn cashed it in, slapping a single to center, scoring Abreu with the go-ahead run.
Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch came out to make a pitching change and then made a beeline to Layne. Arguing video replay decisions brings an automatic ejection. Hinch knew that and didn’t care. He made sure to get his point across.
The Tigers must’ve had a replay angle that showed Báez apply the tag.
The White Sox added an insurance run in the eighth. AJ Pollock lined a solo home run to left off Andrew Chafin. It was just the second homer Chafin allowed this year in 155 batters.
That play at second base would’ve mattered less, of course, had the Tigers not stopped hitting. After allowing four runs on seven hits in the first three innings, Giolito retired 14 of the last 15 hitters he faced through seven innings.
The Tigers have lost five straight and are 29 games under .500 (43-72).
It was a grind for Tigers starter Matt Manning.
In his two previous starts since he came off the injured list, he survived by smartly mixing his secondary pitches — the slider, curveball and change-up. His two-seam and four-seam fastballs were still a little sketchy after the three-month stint on the injured list.
Different story Saturday. His fastballs were lively, sitting 95 mph and hitting 97. He struck out Vaughn with three straight heaters, 94, 96, 96. He threw an equal mix of four-seamers and sinkers.
But his secondary pitches weren’t nearly as sharp, particularly the slider.
After Manning blew away Vaughn in the second inning, Gavin Sheets, with an emergency hack at an 0-2 heater, doubled down the left-field line. Manning then hung sliders to Leury Garcia and Josh Harrison and the White Sox put up two quick runs to tie the score 3-3.
The Tigers took back the lead in the top of the third inning on an RBI double by Eric Haase.
But Manning gave that back in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and a runner at first, he walked Yoan Moncada and then left an 0-1 slider up to Eloy Jimenez. He smacked it into center field for an RBI single.
When the dust settled, Manning soldiered through five innings, allowing the four runs on 10 hits. But he left with a flourish, striking out Sheets and Garcia, getting five swings and misses with his last six pitches and leaving a 4-4 tie to the bullpen.
One of the three hits the Tigers got after the third inning was a single by Kerry Carpenter — his first big-league hit after going 0 for 10 to start his career.
