Kyle Lobstein held the White Sox to a run over 7 2/3 innings, and the Detroit Tigers held on for a 4-1 Thursday to salvage a win in their three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Sox, who are trying to save ground in the American League Central after an unexpectedly rough start to the season, were hoping to stay hot and complete a series sweep. Lobstein, the type of soft-tossing left-hander who always seems to give the Sox problems, had other ideas.
“They give everybody trouble,” manager Robin Ventura said. “They’ve been around a long time.
“He has a lot of deception and it’s not just throwing it up there. He’s using both sides of the plate. He was very deceptive today.”
The Sox had their shot at him in the fourth after Avisail Garcia (.319 average) drove in a the tying run with a single and Adam LaRoche walked to load the bases. But Alexei Ramirez hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Nick Castellanos, who stepped on third for an out and threw home to nail Jose Abreu for a double play. Gordon Beckham then grounded to first baseman Miguel Cabrera, and that was it for the Sox offense. The Sox finished with five hits.
Jose Quintana (1-3, 5.03 ERA) struck out eight over five innings and allowed two runs on four hits, exiting because of a high (105) pitch count.
“They sit there and work counts and make it really hard on the starter,’’ Ventura said of the Tigers (18-11).
The Sox open a three-game series Friday against the Reds at U.S. Cellular Field.