Chicago White Sox survive big collision and beat Detroit Tigers for 1st 6-game winning streak since May 2022

LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune on Sep 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — Chicago White Sox starter Shane Smith took a hit — literally — and kept on going.

Smith and catcher Kyle Teel violently collided when both went after a wild pitch that bounced high in front of the plate in the fourth inning Friday against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

With both players down, two runs scored during the sequence. The training staff checked on both Smith and Teel. The players shook off the big hit and remained in the game.

“The plan for today is always to get through five,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to let that get in the way of that.”

Smith then finished the at-bat, striking out Dillon Dingler to end the inning. Smith went five innings and earned the win as the Sox rallied for a 7-5 victory in front of 35,216.

“Shane’s a tough guy,” Teel said. “I had my helmet on. I just remember crashing into him pretty hard. I’ve got a whole set of gear on. Shane’s a dog for staying out there and pitching his butt off.”

Smith allowed four runs on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

“It’s just realizing I’ve got a job to do,” Smith said. “I definitely probably had some adrenaline when I first got up again. Just try to ride it a little bit longer. But just try to finish five, I know our bullpen has been used a ton lately so I wanted to get as much as I could.”

Asked how he was feeling, Smith said, “I’m good and I’m glad we got the win there.”

The Tigers went ahead 4-3 on the wild pitch. The Sox tied it in the fifth when Dominic Fletcher doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice. They went ahead an inning later on a solo home run by Andrew Benintendi. Colson Montgomery added a two-run home run in the seventh.

The Sox received steady bullpen contributions from Tyler Gilbert, Dan Altavilla and Jordan Leasure to extend their season-high winning streak to six games.

All six wins have been in come-from-behind fashion, which is a franchise record.

“A lot of no-quit attitude,” Smith said. “Even today, we get the lead, I give it up, we get the lead again, I give it up on that (wild pitch) and we go out the next inning and take it again.

“Especially in (the previous series at) Minnesota, we were down in every single game we played. (To come back is) a sign of a good ballclub and I think we’re really putting one foot in front of the other.”

Teel saw Smith set the tone on Friday.

“He just controlled the zone really well,” Teel said. “He was attacking the zone early and really set us up to do what we wanted.”

Smith added that “using both fastballs was effective.”

“The changeup came out a little later in the outing,” Smith said. “I was able to spin a couple of curveballs when I needed it. Relied on the fastball, but still had the other secondary stuff.”

Teammates followed Smith’s lead.

“He’s a true competitor,” Montgomery said. “Once a pitcher sets that tone, it kind of just gets your offense fired up.”

Contributions continued throughout the lineup for the Sox. Curtis Mead had two hits and scored twice. Fletcher doubled twice and scored two runs after having his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte.

Teel, Will Robertson and Benintendi each had one RBI. Montgomery drove in four.

Benintendi and Montgomery are tied for second on the team with 18 home runs, one behind Lenyn Sosa.

Montgomery tied Josh Fields (2007) for the most home runs after the All-Star break in Sox history by a rookie — all 18. The 18 home runs also tied José Abreu in 2014 for the most by a Sox player in the first 51 games of a career.

“Once again, that inning, all of our guys were having good at-bats,” Montgomery said. “Curtis, he could’ve ran into a double play, but it’s that hustle too that we have, breaking up a double play and extending the inning because we got guys all down our lineup that can make a difference.

“(Reliever Keider Montero) just threw a ball and I was able to handle it.”

The total team effort led to the franchise’s first six-game winning streak since May 2-8, 2022.

“We’ve talked about how important finishing strong is for us,” manager Will Venable said. “And as I think about it, we got in at 4 a.m. (from Minnesota), guys didn’t go to sleep until at least 5 a.m. last night and we came to the ballpark focused with a ton of energy.

“Got to give these guys credit for continuing to show up and believe that they can go out and get a win.”

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