CHICAGO _ Miguel Cabrera walked into the clubhouse Thursday morning and saw Matthew Boyd grinding over the scouting reports.
"Please give us seven innings today," Cabrera said. "Please, seven innings. Save the bullpen."
Boyd looked up, nodded, and said he was shooting for at least that.
"OK, nine innings _ be a man," Cabrera said, laughing. "Just pitch."
Boyd pitched. Superbly. But only for five innings. He struck out a career-high tying 13, but was at 107 pitches and, after allowing his second home run of the game, was pulled with one out in the sixth.
Fortunately, the offense had built up enough equity to give Boyd his first win since May 28 and the Tigers salvaged one of the three games against the White Sox, 11-5.
The 13 strikeouts give Boyd 142 (in 107 innings and just 20 walks) at the break, the most by a Tigers lefty since Mickey Lolich fanned 156 in 1972. Also, according to STATS, he is the first pitcher in the live ball era to strikeout 13 without a walk in less than six innings.
And he was well-supported for once. Niko Goodrum, Miguel Cabrera and Jeimer Candelario homered to lead a 15-hit attack and the Tigers opened the game up with a five-run sixth inning.
For Goodrum, who had three hits and scored twice, it was his first homer in 108 plate appearance dating back to May 31.
Cabrera's blast was vintage. The ball left his bat at 106 mph and traveled 453 feet into the seats in left center. It was his fifth of the year and his first since June 14.
Cabrera also doubled and scored in the sixth, one of four doubles in the inning.
Nick Castellanos, despite getting two hits taken away by excellent defensive plays, extended his on-base streak to a Major-League best 27 games with a single and a double. He also knocked in two runs.
Victor Reyes, just recalled from Toledo, and Harold Castro each had a pair of hits and an RBI and John Hicks, who snapped an 0-for-31 skid on Wednesday, lashed a two-run single with an exit velocity off the bat of 107 mph.
The 11 runs ties the Tigers' season-high. It was the third time they've scored in double figures, and the first since May 8 against the Angels.
Boyd had the White Sox in the proverbial rocking chair for five innings, taking strikes and swinging at pitches on the edges. He finished with 21 swing-and-miss strikes and 18 called strikes _ 11 each with his four-seam fastball.
He punched out Yoan Moncada three times and with two of those stranded four runners. He got him with two runners on and two outs in the third, then with runners at the corners and one out in the fifth.
The White Sox dinged him in the fourth. His ex-battery mate James McCann doubled on a 2-2 fastball and one batter later, Jose Rondon hit a 1-2 fastball into the Tigers' bullpen in right field. And they chased him in the sixth after McCann singled and Eloy Jimenez, after striking out twice, hit a 434-foot home run.
The Tigers took a 9-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh _ where things have gotten dicey in recent games. Blaine Hardy, who got the last two outs of the sixth, gave up two singles (one on a ball shortstop Jordy Mercer typically fields) and was replaced by Buck Farmer.
Jose Abreu singled on a ball that fell between a diving Reyes and Castellanos in right-center field. Bases loaded.
But Farmer limited the damage. He struck out McCann, gave up a sacrifice fly to Jimenez and got Rondon to ground out.
Daniel Stumpf and Shane Greene made sure there was no late-inning shenanigans by the White Sox.
