Detroit Tigers win another pitcher’s duel, 2-1, against White Sox

In the first week of the season, the Detroit Tigers confirmed they could outscore the opposition.

Now in the second week, the Tigers are proving they can beat teams with pitching and timely hitting from the most unusually players.

Ace pitcher David Price threw another gem, pitching eight innings and allowing just one run on four hits, and shortstop Jose Iglesias went 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI-single in the ninth as the Tigers beat the White Sox, 2-1, on Friday.

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Detroit broke a, 1-1, tie with a run in the bottom of the ninth to win the ballgame. Third baseman Nick Castellanos, who was 2-for-4, doubled to begin the frame, and catcher Alex Avila bunted pinch runner Andrew Romine to third.

Just as the platoon center fielder Rajai Davis did twice in Pittsburgh, the more defensive minded shortstop, Iglesias, came up with the game-winning RBI off White Sox relief pitcher Zach Duke.

Iglesias’ two hits Friday raised his batting average to .484 through 10 games to begin the 2015 season.

Fresh off his duel with Indians’ ace Corey Kluber, Price faced White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija, who may not technically be Chicago’s ace, but sure looked like one as he basically went pitch-for-pitch with Price on Friday.

Each pitcher allowed only one run and both came on solo home runs.

White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia hit Chicago’s solo home run over the right field fence in the second inning, and Tigers designated hitter Yoenis Cespedes crushed a bomb to deep left field in the fourth.

The only other blemish on Price’s line for the day was two walks, but he quickly worked around them. He also struck out nine batters. Samardzija struck out seven and didn’t walk a single Tigers hitter.

That doesn’t mean the Tigers offense didn’t have their chances to score more runs versus Samardzija. Detroit’s offense recorded eight hits off the Chicago right-hander but stranded runs in scoring position in the first, third, fifth and seventh innings until finally breaking through in the ninth.

Joakim Soria, who pitched a perfect ninth inning, picked up his first win of the season. The home run Price yielded was the first earned run he has allowed this season. He has a 0.40 ERA in 22 1/3 innings over three starts.

In the last three games, Detroit starting pitchers have a combined 0.38 ERA.

Besides Iglesias and Castellanos, center fielder Anthony Gose and first baseman Miguel Cabrera also had two hits in the game. Game 2 of the series is Saturday with first pitch at 1:08 PM.

Next: Detroit Tigers: Franchise Four Candidates

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