Riley Greene HR Caps Tigers' 11-8 Rally

Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene smashed a two-run homer in a five-run eighth inning Friday night as Detroit wiped out an 8-2 deficit and beat the Chicago White Sox 11-8 at Rate Field. Greene's 21st homer of the season came off Bryan Hudson after Dillon Dingler's go-ahead single and Hao-Yu Lee's game-tying two-run shot had already flipped the inning. Lee finished with four of Detroit's 16 hits.

Chicago led 8-2 after Miguel Vargas's 32nd homer, a two-run blast in the third. Kevin McGonigle's bases-loaded triple in the fifth cut it to 8-5 and chased rookie starter David Sandlin, with White Sox right fielder Tristan Peters leaving after a wall crash on the play. Lee's RBI double off Chris Murphy in the sixth made it 8-6. Then the eighth exploded.

Five-run eighth, first-place shakeup

Lee tied it against Sean Newcomb (2-5) with his 10th homer. Dingler punched the go-ahead single. Greene followed with the two-run shot that made the comeback stick. The Associated Press board put Kenley Jansen on for his 21st save. Detroit improved to 73-81. Chicago fell to 78-76.

The loss knocked the White Sox out of first in the AL Central. Cleveland sits one game ahead after its own Friday win, though Chicago still owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. Chicago also holds a one-game lead for the final American League wild card, with Toronto two back and Texas one back after beating the Blue Jays.

For Smacktok fans watching the September board, Greene is the named lead on a night that started like a blowout and ended like a standings earthquake. Lee's four-hit grind set the table. Dingler's single flipped the score. Greene's 21st made the road club leave Rate Field with the win.

Greene entered the night as a middle-of-the-order bat on a club already outside the wild-card picture. Nights like this still matter for Smacktok fans who track named leads, not just standings math. Sixteen hits, five in the eighth, and a 21st homer are the box-score truth. Chicago's first-place slip is the September stake that rides with it.

White Sox fans woke up Saturday still holding the wild-card lead and the Central tiebreaker, just not the outright first-place chair. That is the overnight board. Greene's homer is why Detroit owns the highlight.

September stakes

Eight games remain on Chicago's schedule. Detroit is playing spoiler baseball and just spoiled a first-place night. Greene's eighth-inning homer is the clip that travels.

Down six. Five in the eighth. Greene's 21st. That is Detroit's Friday in Chicago.