Rookie Brieske outduels Cease, Tigers beat White Sox 2-1

Rookie Beau Brieske tossed two-hit ball into the seventh inning while outpitching Dylan Cease, Javier Báez homered and the Detroit Tigers hung on defeat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Thursday night.

The Tigers won their fifth consecutive. They started this four-game series against the reigning AL Central champs after a four-game home sweep of the Guardians, their first against Cleveland in nine years.

Pinch-hitter Spencer Torkelson had an RBI single in the ninth to give Detroit a two-run lead. Chicago then made it interesting in the bottom half against closer Gregory Soto, who earned his 17th save in 19 chances.

Tim Anderson singled with one out, AJ Pollock walked and Luis Robert cut it to 2-1 with a double down the right-field line. But with runners on second and third, Soto struck out José Abreu and Eloy Jiménez.

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The only hits Brieske (2-6) allowed were singles by Josh Harrison leading off the sixth and by Abreu, who chased him with one out in the seventh.

The 24-year-old right-hander struck out four and walked one to win for the second time in 14 major league starts. He also beat Toronto on June 11.

Báez, greeted with a mix of boos and cheers in his first game in Chicago since the crosstown Cubs traded him to the New York Mets last July, gave Detroit a 1-0 lead when he connected against Cease leading off the fourth. The drive to left was the two-time All-Star’s eighth home run.

Cease (7-4) — 10-0 in his first 11 starts versus Detroit — was a tough-luck loser. The right-hander went six innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out eight and walked three.

Harrison, who also walked in the third, got stranded after breaking up the no-hit bid in the sixth. He moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Reese McGuire and advanced to third with two out on a wild pitch before AJ Pollock lined to Báez at shortstop.

Abreu extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his single in the seventh. But he also got tagged out between first and second by catcher Tucker Barnhart to end the inning after Alex Lange struck out Jiménez.

Detroit’s Andrew Chafin retired Yoán Moncada on a flyball to the warning track leading off the eighth, then got the next two batters.

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