Tigers win, with assist from Mother Nature

2:19 AM ET

CHICAGO — Prior to Thursday’s game, there was talk about the Detroit Tigers’ need to open strong in a series against a divisional opponent with less than two weeks remaining until baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline.

Detroit manager Brad Ausmus mentioned a “sense of urgency.”

Well, there was anything but “urgency” during a lengthy rain delay that interrupted play at U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday night, but the Tigers got the result they were seeking regardless in a 2-1 victory against the Chicago White Sox in an abbreviated, 6½-inning effort.

Veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler, who sparked a dormant Tigers offense with his fifth-inning home run, said teammates passed the time playing cards, scanning their phones for weather updates and watching other games on the clubhouse television. The fact that Detroit went into the stoppage with a one-run lead in the seventh inning seemed to make the wait almost interminable.

That feeling of let’s call this thing already?

The U.S. Cellular Field grounds crew rolls out the tarp as members of the Tigers’ bullpen head to the dugout during Thursday’s rain delay. David Banks/USA TODAY Sports

“Yeah, probably about an hour ago,” Kinsler …

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