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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) – One of Chris Holt's biggest problems Saturday in
his Detroit debut was staying upright on the mound.
|  | | Detroit's Chris Holt gave up seven hits and battled heavy wind to beat the White Sox on Saturday. |
With winds gusting up to 40 mph at Comiskey Park, the field became a sea of hot dog wrappers, rendering even the most ordinary tasks difficult.
"It was tough. You didn't know which way it was going to blow," Holt said after pitching the Tigers past the Chicago White Sox 5-3 with eight strong innings.
"A couple of times, it blew me off the mound. But I was able to
get over it."
Dean Palmer, activated from the disabled list before the game, made it easier for Holt, hitting a two-run homer as the Tigers sent the White Sox to their third straight loss in this young season.
"Welcome back, Deano," Detroit manager Phil Garner said.
Palmer, who'd been sidelined with a sore right biceps, homered
off Mark Buehrle (0-1) in a three-run fourth.
Holt (1-0) gave up three runs and seven hits, including Jose
Valentin's two-run triple in the third.
He pitched out of a jam in the seventh after consecutive singles
by Paul Konerko and Carlos Lee by retiring three straight, striking
out Harold Baines to end the inning. Chicago got a run in the eighth when Ray Durham hit a wind-blown triple and Valentin had an RBI grounder.
Todd Jones pitched a shaky ninth for his second save, giving up
a two-out single and walk before retiring Sandy Alomar on a long
fly to the warning track to end the game.
"I knew it was staying in because of the wind," a relieved Jones said.
Garner wasn't so sure.
"He hit it off the end of the bat, but I didn't know what the
ball was going to do," Garner said. "It was just good to see it
stay on our side of the fence. With the wind the way it was, you
didn't know what it would do."
Chicago's sloppy fielding helped the Tigers to a quick start.
Third baseman Valentin -- who made 36 errors a year ago as a
shortstop -- threw wildly past first after fielding leadoff hitter
Roger Cedeno's infield roller.
Damion Easley followed with a triple and scored on Tony Clark's sacrifice fly.
"You can't blame your teammates, guys are going to make errors," said Buehrle, who was also teetering on the mound several times on the blustery, unseasonably warm 74-degree day.
"It was difficult, but that's no excuse. They had to deal with it, too," Buehrle said.
"There were a couple of times I was afraid that I was going to
be called for a balk because I was swinging back and forth on the mound."
After Palmer's homer in the fifth, Detroit added another run
when Shane Halter singled and scored all the way from first when
Brandon Inge's soft single to center skipped past Chris Singleton
but was not ruled an error.
The White Sox were charged with four errors.
"We undoubtedly need to catch the ball better than we did
today," Chicago manager Jerry Manuel said.
The conditions made most every fly ball and popup an adventure.
"It was crazy," Singleton. "It went against all your natural reactions when it's hit hard and high and it comes down 30 feet in front of you. You know it will, but it's still hard to trust it," he added.
"The wind made it a tough day. There were some really nice plays. None of them were easy," Garner said.
Game notes
Chicago is now two games under .500 for the first time since
starting last season 0-2, and the Tigers are at .500 for the
first time since they were 1-1 last season. ... The four-error game
was the White Sox's first since last April 8 in Oakland when
Valentin made all four by himself. ... Before the game, the Tigers
put RHP Brian Moehler on the 15-day DL with a sore shoulder and
activated Palmer. They also called up RHP Victor Santos from
Triple-A Toledo and sent outfielder-first baseman Ryan Jackson to
the Mud Hens. They also transferred catcher Matt Meluskey from the
15-day to the 60-day DL. He had shoulder surgery Thursday. ...
Holt, who walked one and struck out three, is now 2-0 against the
White Sox. He beat them last season while with Houston in
interleague play, allowing just one run during an eight-inning
outing.
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RECAPS
Baltimore 4
Cleveland 2
Toronto 3
NY Yankees 2
Detroit 5
Chi. White Sox 3
Kansas City 5
Minnesota 3
Oakland 4
Anaheim 2
Boston 6
Tampa Bay 2
Seattle 6
Texas 5
Chicago Cubs 8
Philadelphia 4
Milwaukee 6
Cincinnati 1
Montreal 10
NY Mets 0
Pittsburgh 5
Houston 3
San Diego 14
Colorado 10
St. Louis 8
Arizona 4
Florida 8
Atlanta 0
Los Angeles 10
San Francisco 4
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