DETROIT (AP) - When a major league player hits his first home run, his team usually needs to negotiate with a fan to get the ball.
The Chicago White Sox didn’t have that problem Tuesday night.
Ryan LaMarre’s line drive to left field bounced off the top of the bullpen shelter and into the hands of a familiar face.
“My uncle caught it,” said LaMarre, who was born 10 miles north of Comerica Park and played college baseball at Michigan. “I’m not sure which uncle - I have a lot of them - but one of them caught it. It was crazy.”
LaMarre, who hit the homer in his 168th plate appearance, acknowledged hitting one to a family member was a longshot.
“The odds are probably about the same as me hitting a homer,” he said after receiving a beer shower from his teammates.
The home run gave the White Sox a 4-3 lead in the second inning, and Lucas Giolito pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the sixth inning as the White Sox held on to win 6-3.
Chicago won for the second time in eight games, improving to 2-9 against Detroit this season.
Giolito (8-9) allowed three runs and eight hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out seven to improve to 3-1 in his past six starts.
The Tigers got runners to the corners in the ninth, but Xavier Cedeno struck out Nicholas Castellanos to earn his first save since Aug. 11, 2015.
“We had the chances in the sixth and again in the ninth, but that’s when you need someone to step up and get a hit,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We didn’t do that.”
Blaine Hardy (4-5) took the loss, allowing four runs and six hits and a walk in four innings.
Both teams scored three runs in the first inning, Chicago getting its final two on a bizarre play. Daniel Palka’s RBI single made it 1-0 and left the bases loaded with one out. Kevan Smith hit a fly ball to deep center, and all three runners tried to advance.
Palka stopped between first and second as Jose Abreu scored from third, and by the time the Tigers were able to finish off a sloppy rundown, Matt Davidson had scored from second for a two-run sacrifice fly double play as Palka was thrown out at second to end the inning.
“Some of these things, I’ve never seen,” Gardenhire said. “I think I had to talk to 16 people about things we needed to do better in that inning.
“It was a ’Bad News Bears’ kind of night.”
In the bottom of the first, Victor Martinez made it 3-2 with a two-out, two-run double, and Jim Adduci followed with a game-tying single. The Tigers, though, never scored again.
“That’s just baseball,” Adduci said. “We got off to the quick start, but their pitchers did their jobs after that.”
LaMarre put Chicago back ahead with his family-finding line drive.
“We were all very happy for him,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “It was good for him to do it here, near his home and with his family in town.”
Zach McAllister replaced Hardy for the fifth inning, and the White Sox quickly took advantage. Tim Anderson and Avisail Garcia led off with singles, and Abreu made it 6-3 with a two-run double.
The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but Giolito got out of it when James McCann popped out, Mike Gerber struck out and Victor Reyes popped out.
“I knew I was facing the bottom of the order, so I wanted to get ahead and put them away,” Giolito said.
Renteria had relievers ready, but gave his starter a chance to save the game.
“We were going batter to batter once they loaded the bases, but he kept executing,” he said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Infielder Yoan Moncada missed Tuesday’s game after having root canal surgery. He is expected to be available on Wednesday.
Tigers: Shortstop Jose Iglesias left after eight innings with a thumb injury. Iglesias said he bruised it on Monday and tried to play through it. His status will be determined in the morning for Wednesday afternoon’s game. … RHP Michael Fulmer made a rehab start for Class A Lakeland, striking out four in two perfect innings. Fulmer has been out since July 20 with an oblique strain.
ADDUCI TAKES THE BLAME
Adduci accepted the responsibility for the strange ending to the first inning, where Smith’s sacrifice fly scored two runs before the Tigers could complete the rundown. A converted outfielder, he had only started three major league games at first base before this season.
“When Palka stopped, I’ve got to get down there and tag him,” he said. “Yes, there’s a learning curve, but I’m a baseball player and I need to make that play.”
CHICAGO IN DETROIT
This series is the first of three that Detroit will host against Chicago teams in less than two weeks. The Cubs come to Comerica Park on Aug. 21-22, followed by the White Sox returning for a four-game series from Aug. 23-26.
UP NEXT
The teams finish the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon. Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann (5-4, 3.98 ERA) will face Carlos Rodon (3-3, 2.61).
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