White Sox 8, Tigers 1: A 3-Hour, 50-Minute Delay, Then a Central Win

The rain sat for 3 hours and 50 minutes

September 20, 2026 - Chicago - Rate Field waited through a 3-hour, 50-minute rain delay, first pitch at 5 p.m. CT, and then the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 8-1. Chicago is 80-76. Cleveland is 81-75. The American League Central is still a one-game race.

Rain. 65 degrees. Wind 10 mph left to right. Attendance 21,354. The game itself lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes. The MLB recap said fans were allowed to leave and scan back in because the delay ran so long, and that remaining fans got $5 hot dogs. The Bears-Vikings game from Soldier Field ran on the center-field board next to a radar map.

"I FaceTimed the family a lot," manager Will Venable said, per the MLB recap. "There was football on. We had time there on our hands, and I thought the guys did a really good job after a long delay of being focused and really locked in."

Chase Meidroth, who later homered: "Honestly, Sunday, thank God there was some football on. Some guys were watching their teams. I know [Andrew Benintendi] was watching the Bengals, so we were rooting on the Bengals for him."

A pickoff that wasn't, then Antonacci's double

The first run came in the second. Meidroth was picked off first and still survived it. Braden Montgomery doubled him home off Troy Melton. 1-0.

The fourth made it a game Detroit had to chase. Colson Montgomery reached. Brenton Doyle beat out a grounder to third baseman Hao-Yu Lee. Sam Antonacci doubled both in with two outs. Kyle Teel singled Antonacci home. 4-0.

Meidroth hit his 15th in the fifth, a fly to left, Colson Montgomery scoring with him. 6-0. Two runs, two RBI, a stolen base, and the homer on a 1-for-5 night. That is how a table fills without a 4-for-4.

Melton (8-5) lasted 3 2/3. Four hits. Four earned. Three walks. Four strikeouts. Eighty-three pitches. Tyler Holton walked two in a third of an inning. Ty Madden allowed Meidroth's homer through three innings. Brant Hurter walked in a run in the eighth.

Martin, a calf, and a win for Brazobán

Davis Martin threw 4 1/3 scoreless. Three hits. Two walks. Six strikeouts. Seventy pitches. He left with a runner on first in the fifth. Hagen Smith finished the inning. Martin has been dealing with right calf pain since April, the MLB recap said, and the wet mound made it worse.

"I've been dealing with it since April. So it's been an on-and-off thing," Martin said. "Just tonight, with the instability on the mound, it was just an added little layer where I was sliding all over the place. Just kind of throbbing pain. Nothing that's going to hold me long term. I've been throwing through it all year. Just thought it was wise with where the game was going and Hagen lining up with McGonigle, doing my job, taking the ego out of it, and when it's my turn to hand the ball over, it's my turn to hand the ball over. It worked out well for us tonight."

Huascar Brazobán (6-2) threw a scoreless sixth and got the win. Trevor Richards allowed Detroit's only run in the eighth, Riley Greene doubling and scoring on Max Clark's sacrifice fly. Luis Castillo finished the ninth.

The eighth added two more for Chicago. Munetaka Murakami walked with the bases loaded. Randal Grichuk hit a sacrifice fly. 8-1. Miguel Vargas walked three times. Antonacci went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a stolen base. Braden Montgomery had two hits. Eduardo Valencia had three of Detroit's six hits and none of the damage.

One game back, three of four from Detroit

Chicago took three of four from the Tigers this weekend. Detroit is 73-83. The White Sox still trail Cleveland by a game, and the Guardians hold the Central only if they finish ahead because Chicago owns the tiebreaker.

Sunday did not ask them to survive a ninth. It asked them to stay sharp after a delay that ate the afternoon, then score in four innings. They did both. Meidroth's homer was the swing that traveled. The rest was two-out hitting in the fourth and a starter who handed the ball over before the calf decided the night.

Venable's clubhouse had football, FaceTime, and then an 8-1. That is a September Central game in the rain.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Chicago at 18 team fantasy points, third on the slate. Meidroth and Antonacci each had 8 hitting FP. Martin had 13.33 pitching FP. Detroit finished at minus-7.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*