Morning Box Score

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Aug 16, 2010 1:00PM

Tigers Tackle Sox, Themselves
It was a wild one yesterday at The Cell where the Tigers battled past the Sox and themselves for a 13-8 win over the Pale Hose. Down 5-1 early, the Sox rallied back and a two-run Paul Konerko homer in the sixth pushed the Sox out in front 7-5. But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead as JJ Putz was scarred with a blown save for the second straight game, giving up three runs (two earned), and Tony Pena gave up four more to Detroit with the Sox only mustering one more run through the final three innings. The Tigers also managed to overcome some (Cubs-like) inner turmoil in the dugout after the first inning when pitcher Armando Galarraga argued with some teammates. The loss drops the Sox three games behind the Minnesota Twins. Both teams have today off before reconvening for a big three-game series in Minnesota on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., WCIU).

Cubs Hold Off Cards
The Cubs' bullpen nearly blew it a big lead, but they held on and the Cubs took the weekend series from the rival Cardinals via yesterday's 9-7 win. A pair of Derrek Lee solo homers helped give the Cubs an early 2-1 lead before they exploded for six runs in the fourth, led by Koyie Hill's two-run ground-rule double. You'd think spotting the bullpen an 8-2 lead after a great performance from Ryan Dempster (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 K) would be enough. But then you wouldn't know the Cubs. The pen gave up five runs in the bottom of the ninth, four given up by Marcos Mateo and one by James Russell before Carlos Marmol came in and closed the game (but not before allowing the possible tying runs into scoring position). The Cubs finish the roadtrip 4-3 and head home to take on the Padres starting tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., WGN).