Tigers Reveal Their Lineup After a Spectacular Comeback Against White Sox
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The Detroit Tigers turned a game that seemed lost into one of their most exciting comebacks of the entire season on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. After falling behind 6-1 in a complicated first inning due to two errors by Gleyber Torres and Hao-Yu Lee that complicated the inning for rookie Andrew Sears, Detroit gradually began to close the gap on the scoreboard.
They entered the start of the fifth inning trailing 8-2, but a bases-loaded triple by Kevin McGonigle brought them within 8-5. Lee overcame his fateful fielding error in the first inning and hit an RBI double at the start of the sixth that made the score 8-6. That left everything ready for the final blow: a five-run rally in the eighth to turn the score around, 11-8.
HAO-YU LEE TIES IT UP IN THE 8TH pic.twitter.com/2K2ZV6xj0L
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 19, 2026
Lee stepped up again under pressure and hit a two-run home run to start the eighth, attacking a high fastball from left-hander Sean Newcomb. Dillon Dingler drove in McGonigle with a single and Riley Greene hit a two-run home run against left-hander Bryan Hudson to seal the game for the White Sox.
RILEY WANTED IN ON THE FUN 🚀 pic.twitter.com/4rWjLqaa1O
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 19, 2026
Chicago received six consecutive scoreless innings from Detroit’s bullpen starting in the third inning. The bullpen’s most notable performance was once again that of left-hander Drew Sommers, who worked two nearly perfect innings with five strikeouts before handing the ball to veteran Kenley Jansen, who closed the game with his 21st save of the season.
The fastball remains Jobe’s main problem
Yes, the power in his right arm has been there again. Jobe has gained velocity and is averaging 97.7 mph with his fastball, but he still needs to improve the location of his pitches. Hitters are destroying his fastball, producing a .674 slugging percentage and a .471 wOBA. But the metric that is causing me the most doubt is the way they are anticipating his velocity, with 21% of perfect contact and only 0.8 inches of miss distance.
However, what catches my attention the most is that Jobe is finding the mix to be effective despite his four-seam fastball not dominating enough as the main pitch in his repertoire. Hitters are batting just .056 against his curveball—now with an interesting and at the same time unsustainable 44.4% whiff rate—and .154 against the sinker, the two pitches that have had the biggest influence on his recent improvement. Even so, Jobe’s 4.86 FIP suggests that we should look a little beyond the result of the balls they are putting in play.
At the same time, there are changes that are helping him improve his command, and he has lowered his walk rate to 8.8%, increasing his strikeouts to 23.0%. The adjustment can be seen better in his two September starts, with 15 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings.
Talking about dominance, comebacks and high run totals
The Tigers have won 10 games this season by six or more runs, the most in baseball. They have won five games by 10 or more runs, tied for the most in the American League. Meanwhile, they are one of 10 teams in all of baseball this year that have lost only two games—or fewer—by double-digit margins (both happened recently in Minnesota, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1). All of this while they are 21-48 in 69 games decided by two runs or fewer. That is where Detroit’s +77 run differential comes from, the fourth-best in the American League, despite their 73-81 record this season.
Starting lineup for Game 3 in Chicago
- 3B Kevin McGonigle
- 2B Hao-Yu Lee
- 1B Colt Keith
- DH Riley Greene
- C Dillon Dingler
- CF Max Clark
- RF Ben Malgeri
- LF Brett Callahan
- SS John Peck
Lee responds when the Tigers need production
Hao-Yu Lee comes in with a .254 batting average, but his numbers in pressure situations have become one of the most interesting stories for the Tigers this year. The infielder is batting .307 with runners in scoring position, with 30 RBIs in 75 at-bats. He has also delivered several important moments during the season.
Before leading Friday night’s comeback in Chicago on Sept.12, he went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored against Colorado, while on Aug. 9 he hit a pinch-hit single in the 10th inning to give the Tigers the lead. Lee also has 10 home runs and 45 RBIs on the season, with six home runs against right-handed pitchers.
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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