Sale on losing end of pitchers’ duel in Detroit

DETROIT — J.D. Martinez stepped off the disabled list and off the Tigers’ bench for a go-ahead, pinch-hit home run off Chris Sale in the eighth inning, helping extend the Tigers’ winning streak to eight games with a 2-1 win over the White Sox on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

Martinez, activated from the 15-day DL earlier in the day after missing six weeks with a fractured elbow, was held out of the lineup after playing a doubleheader on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday. But manager Brad Ausmus took a chance with him off the bench, hitting for James McCann.

Martinez hit the first Major League pitch he had seen since June 16, a Sale fastball, into the shrubs in left-center field, an estimated 434-foot drive, according to Statcast™. It was his second career pinch-hit home run, but his third career homer in 32 plate appearances against Sale (14-5), who fell to 3-4 lifetime at Comerica Park, despite a season-high 10 strikeouts over eight innings.

Sale trailed for much of the game in his duel opposite Michael Fulmer, but Justin Morneau’s second homer this season off the Tigers rookie tied the game at 1 in the seventh. Fulmer tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts before Shane Greene (2-2) thwarted a go-ahead opportunity for the White Sox in the seventh inning.

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