Chicago — Casey Mize made things awfully interesting for five innings – then everything went awry.
Though it wasn’t necessarily all Mize’s fault, in what turned out to be a 4-3 Tigers’ loss Friday.
Mize no-hit the White Sox through five innings. But Mize opened the sixth walking Nomar Mazara, then allowing Yolmer Sanchez to lace a double into the right-field corner, the only hit Mize allowed in the game.
BOX SCORE: White Sox 4, Tigers 3
After Nick Madrigal grounded out, scoring Mazara, manager Ron Gardenhire replaced Mize with Jose Cisnero.
In quick fashion, Cisnero hit Tim Anderson and allowed a three-run home run to Eloy Jimenez, his 12th home run, giving the White Sox a 4-3 lead.
Mize’s sparkling outing was put in the rearview mirror a bit, but it shouldn’t be, in what was easily his best outing.
This was Mize’s fifth career start and easily his best.
Mize threw 76 pitches, 48 for strikes, and only 28 balls. Mize went 5⅓ innings, gave up one hit and two earned runs, and walked two while striking out five.
Through five innings, the only baserunner Mize allowed was Edwin Encarnacion, who walked leading off the second inning.
But Encarnacion was quickly erased when former Tiger catcher James McCann hit into a double play.
Interestingly, this was where Mize made his major league debut less than a month ago on August 19, when he allowed three runs on seven hits — he did strike out seven in the loss — in 4⅓ innings.
Mize entered the season as the seventh-best prospect in all of baseball — and the Tigers’ second-best prospect — by MLB Pipeline.
Mize was coming off a start Sunday in Minnesota in which went only four innings and allowed three runs on five hits.
But Mize was a much different pitcher Friday, using his entire arsenal and neutralizing a powerful White Sox lineup.
Mize outdueled White Sox ace Lucas Giolito through five innings, at least, who matched Mize in effectiveness until the Tigers scored three runs in the top of the sixth.
Jonathan Schoop singled, and Giolito walked Miguel Cabrera and Jeimer Candelario, loading the bases with no out.
After Willi Castro struck out, Jorge Bonifacio lifted a sacrifice fly, scoring Schoop.
That gave a chance for Daz Cameron, who battled Giolito with a lengthy at-bat, before singling to right field — Cameron’s first major league hit and RBIs in his 12th career at-bat — giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Coincidentally, Cameron got his first career hit in the same park as his father Mike Cameron did.
And Mike was playing for the White Sox, against the Tigers, in 1995.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan