White Sox lose to Tigers 9-7 in cold, snowy home opener
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The White Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers 9-7 in a cold, sometimes snowy game at Guaranteed Rate Field Thursday.
It was a snowy start to baseball on the South Side as the game became, for fans, a test of will.
"It was nothing but snow, huge flakes. It was cold. It was colder in there than it is out here," said Christina Santiago, White Sox fan.
While they may love them some White Sox, they and many other fans were not goingto stay the whole game.
"Ugh, freezing, but it was great. I wouldn't have missed it. I wouldn't have been anywhere else," said Samantha DeJesus, White Sox fan.
As Guaranteed Rate Field turned into a snow globe, further west the thick, wet flakes arrived in time for the evening rush.
"This isn't anything that will have you stuck in the road or anything like that. It's just annoying, and you have to reduce your speed, I think, to keep safe on the roads," said Christina LoCelso, driver. "It's eyeroll snow."
But one White Sox vendor was fine with winter going into extra innings.
"Lot of hats, sweatshirts, scarves, some gloves that had. We actually ran out of gloves today. So it was really good," said Joe Barry, White Sox souvenir vendor.
The coldest home openers for the White Sox occurred on April 4, 2003 against the Tigers, and April 5, 1974 against the Angels, both with a recorded temperature of only 37 degrees.
Here's the latest video forecast from the ABC 7 Eyewitness News Team
Grace Bauer, daughter of slain Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer, presented the ball for the first pitch.
And fans saw a familiar face throw that ball out: 2005 World Series champ A.J. Pierzynski.
"To be able to come back and do something on Opening Day and to see the fans and see the people who work here, and just be around it is what's special and I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it I'm just praying I don't bounce it," Pierzynski said earlier in the day.
Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson caught the first pitch; it was his last home opener, as the legendary announcer is retiring after this season.
No one may be more excited to be at the game than groundskeeper Nevest Coleman, who returned the grounds after a 23-year hiatus as he served time in prison for a murder he did not commit. He was exonerated last year.
"When you locked up you don't think about it, you just think about what's going on. And the White Sox gave me the opportunity," he said.
TIGERS RALLY LATE TO DEFEAT WHITE SOX
Niko Goodrum hit a two-run homer after replacing the injured Miguel Cabrera, and the Detroit Tigers rallied to beat the White Sox 9-7 in 10 innings in Chicago's chilly home opener Thursday.
Goodrum's shot with two outs in the ninth got the comeback going. The White Sox were leading 7-4 when he drove a 3-2 fastball from Joakim Soria out to right-center to cut the lead to one. Nicholas Castellanos singled and Victor Martinez tied it with an RBI double, drawing boos from a sparse crowd.
Mikie Mahtook singled leading off the 10th against Gregory Infante (0-1) and Jose Iglesias walked. One out later, Mahtook scored from third on a roller toward second by Leonys Martin that was hit too slowly to turn a double play, resulting in a forceout. Jeimer Candelario followed with an RBI single to make it 9-7.
Shane Greene escaped a jam in the bottom half to earn his first save. He retired the first two batters before walking Omar Narvaez and hitting Nicky Delmonico, but struck out Yoan Moncada to end the game.
Castellanos and Martinez each had three hits. Goodrum had two after replacing Cabrera at first base in the second inning. The two-time AL MVP fell after his foot hit the bag awkwardly as he rounded first on a single in the first inning.
Joe Jimenez (1-0) got the win with a scoreless inning in relief, and the Tigers came out on top even though Jordan Zimmermann struggled. The right-hander gave up six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings, but the Tigers improved to 2-4.
Yolmer Sanchez had three hits and three RBIs for Chicago, while Matt Davidson scored four runs. James Shields gave up three runs and eight hits in five innings.
NEW AND IMPROVED FOOD AND FASHION AT GUARANTEED RATE FIELD
First up: move over peanuts and crackerjack and make room for delicacies like specialty sausages, including the Cutter, a chorizo with guacamole, Cotija cheese, the Changeup, a Monterey jack chicken sausage with black bean salsa and a beer cheddar bratwurst with caramelized onions and deli mustard.
And then there's the game gear, with plenty of Sox styles for 2018.
Fans might also notice new concession areas and extra safety netting, now extended to the end of each dugout.
"You talk about technology in netting it makes it so you see right through the nets as you stand here everything looks pretty clear," said White Sox senior vice president of sales and marketing Brooks Boyer.
Other changes include a new Revolution Brewing Taproom and new LED boards showing advanced stats. The White Sox have also announced a new partnership with Goose Island Beer Company.
"The White Sox organization has been a great part of the Chicago community for over a century and we're proud to be part of that family now. Our beers like Goose IPA and 312 are perfect for catching a great game of baseball anywhere," said Todd Ahsmann, President of Goose Island Beer Co. "Personally, I grew up a Sox fan and share a lot of their memories, from jumping on the field when they clinched in '83, to the last and first games at the old and new stadiums, the '05 Series and more than thirty opening days."
