Detroit met the White Sox under bright, sunny skies
to vie for a win on the Third of July.
And when the ball finally settled to make the last out,
The Tigers had triumphed, an 11-5 rout.
Chicago sent veteran Keuchel to pitch
For their fiftieth win and a series to clinch.
Detroit answered back with their own lefty Skubal
Having carved through the Astros, efficient and brutal.
But this time he couldn’t avoid early trouble.
Tim Anderson smoked the first pitch, hit a double
A line drive to center for Akil Baddoo
Then a pair of sharp singles, and Detroit was down two.
Down in the fourth, in need of a hero
To rescue the box score from another dull zero.
First Schoop took a walk, then Miguel on four straight
To put two men on with Eric Haase at the plate.
It was then, gentle reader, our hero would rise
But not with a bat; in the outfield! Surprise!
Playing center, a vision we’re grateful to see
The White Sox speedster known as Hamilton, B.
Haase whiffed at a changeup, then lined up a sinker
Toward Hamilton, a single, not much of a thinker.
But Bill left his feet, made a terrible call –
The ball bounced right by him, all the way to the wall!
Schoop cantered home, Cabrera behind him,
Haase rounding the bases with a fire inside him.
The ball came back in, but the damage was done –
Three runs had scored! INSIDE THE PARK HOME RUN!
To the fifth we would go, with a one-run lead
But Skubal couldn’t hold in his moment of need.
A double and single warned of distress
And then a home run (from Leury Garcia, no less).
But Detroit would have the young pitcher’s back,
And took to the bottom half on the attack.
On Castro! On Rogers! Akil Baddoo!
Schoop with a hit! Tigers plate two!
But the bats were not done. Jeimer was up.
A single to right on a sinking changeup.
Keuchel was out, but Detroit was alive.
They batted around and led, 7-5.
In the seventh, to prove he had thump in his bat,
Eric Haase pinned Chicago straight to the mat.
A three-run homer, then a bonus from Schoop
Left the White Sox with little more reason to hope.
Eleven to five, the final score read.
And this recapper would usher his son straight to bed.
Though his speech is still coming, and his voice a bit thin,
Could’ve sworn as I left that I heard “Tigers win!”
Tomorrow the teams will face off once again –
The first pitch is scheduled to fly at 1:10.
There isn’t much better, lest things go awry,
Than Detroit Tigers baseball on the Fourth of July.