The Tigers answered Friday night with a comeback that flipped the weekend series back to even, and now they’re in position to grab control on Saturday behind Jackson Jobe.
Detroit stormed back from an early hole and scored five times in the eighth inning to beat the White Sox, 11-8. The bullpen day held up just enough, allowing only two earned runs, while Hao-Yu Lee and Riley Greene supplied the punch with home runs in the late innings.
Now Jobe gets the ball for Game 3, and he’s coming off the sharpest outing of his 2026 season. Against the Colorado Rockies at Comerica Park, the 24-year-old finally pushed past six innings, working 6 1/3 frames of one-run ball in an 8-1 win. He allowed three hits, including a solo homer, walked one, struck out eight and hit a batter to pick up his second victory of the year.
The White Sox saw Jobe once already this summer, and that one went in the opposite direction. In his second game back from the injured list, he had his roughest start of the season, giving up six runs on nine hits, including two homers, plus a walk. He struck out four and hit two batters.
Chicago will counter with Sean Burke, who is trying to steady himself after a brutal last start. Burke lasted only 1 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, surrendering seven runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out two and throwing a wild pitch.
He did respond in relief his next time out, though, tossing five innings of unearned-run ball against the Guardians in Cleveland. Burke allowed four hits and two walks, struck out four and came away with his ninth win.
Burke has already matched up with Detroit twice this season, and both outings came with very different looks. In Chicago, he threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball on three hits and two walks, struck out six and got a no-decision in a 2-1 White Sox win. In Detroit, he gave up four runs on five hits, including one homer, and three walks while striking out two over 4 1/3 innings in a 7-5 Tigers win, again without a decision.
On paper, the numbers give both starters a clear story. Jobe has gone 34.2 innings over seven games, with a 23.0 K%, 8.8 BB%, 48.5 GB%, 4.86 FIP and 0.1 fWAR. Burke has logged 161.0 innings across 30 games, posting a 25.9 K%, 8.7 BB%, 34.6 GB%, 3.63 FIP and 3.0 fWAR.
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