CHICAGO — In a game growing more bizarre by the inning, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox provided the most mad-cap moment of a wild contest by passing teammate Tim Anderson on the bases, erasing a key home run.
The Chicago slugger seemingly gave his club a 12-10 lead with a three-run blast to center field in the bottom of the seventh off Detroit’s Reed Garrett. It should have been his second homer of the game and given him six RBIs on the night. Instead, as he jogged around first base, he passed Anderson, who had retreated to the bag to tag up in case Abreu’s deep fly was caught at the fence.
Initially, the umpires ruled that Abreu had not passed Anderson, and he rounded the bases. But numerous players and coaches in Detroit’s dugout immediately saw what had happened and pointed excitedly toward first base. Manager Ron Gardenhire challenged the call, which was reversed after a replay review, and Abreu was ruled out.
The play was officially scored a rare out-of-the-park, two-run single. Abreu got credit for two RBIs instead of three and was ruled out with first baseman John Hicks getting credit for an unassisted putout. Instead of a two-run advantage, Chicago led 11-10.
Abreu’s mistake immediately came back to haunt the White Sox when the Tigers’ Ronny Rodriguez led off the eighth with a home run to left, tying the score at 11. It was just the latest twist in a wild contest that featured 22 runs and 35 hits over the first 7 1/2 innings.