August 11, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Keider Montero (54) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L. Cox-USA TODAY Sports Detroit Tigers rookie right-hander Cade Montero has faced every opponent among the club's American League Central rivals.
That will change on Friday as the Tigers visit the Chicago White Sox, who are trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since late June.
Montero (4-5, 5.28 ERA) aims to keep the Tigers' AL wild-card hopes alive. Detroit has won three of four games following the All-Star break and has finished three games below .500 over the past month.
Montero has provided more hits than most recently, going 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA in August, winning three straight starts.
Montero allowed two hits, two walks and five strikeouts in five-plus innings of scoreless relief on Saturday to beat the New York Yankees.
“He's got really good stuff; he just has weapons,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “It's not just about his fastball and slider. His changeup has gotten better and when you put that together, he's very effective.”
Detroit looks to regroup on the first stop of a seven-game road trip to the Windy City. The Chicago Cubs defeated the Tigers 10-2 on Thursday afternoon to win the series.
Spencer Torkelson gave Detroit a two-run home run in the seventh inning. It was Torkelson's first home run since being recalled on Aug. 17 after being drafted by Triple-A Toledo on June 3.
“It just shows me that my approach works and when I take a consistent approach, my natural swing and my natural hitting ability comes through,” Torkelson said.
Detroit won five of six games from Chicago in the first half, including an early-season three-game sweep at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Things have barely improved for the White Sox since then. They entered the weekend with a 31-97 record, the worst in baseball, and were 31 games behind Detroit for fourth in the division.
Chicago had a day off Thursday after saving a game from the host San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon. Korey Lee and Lenyn Sosa tied the game with two-run singles in the ninth inning, giving the White Sox a 6-2 win.
“This is one we can build upon as a team and individually,” Lee said. “There are great players in the dugout and I just want to step up for them.”
Louis Robert Jr. and Gavin Sheets each had two hits for Chicago. Over the past 15 games, Sheets is batting .388 (19 in 49).
“We've been in all these games,” White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “We weren't going to give up and were happy to get the lead…I was really happy with the way everyone fought. Seeing them keep going and not just fold and go in, they showed a lot of heart.”
Chris Flexen (2-12, 5.46) will start for Chicago, a veteran right-hander who has lost each of his last 18 starts.
Friesen is coming off Saturday's road loss to Houston, in which he allowed four runs and seven hits in four innings. Against the Tigers, he went 0-0 with a 5.79 ERA in 3 appearances and 2 starts in 14 innings.
–Scene-level media