Pérez's advice to young White Sox relievers: 'Trust your stuff'

DETROIT -- Trust your stuff.

That message came from White Sox starter Martín Pérez after Detroit scored three runs in the ninth inning to claim a 4-3 walk-off victory Sunday over the visiting South Siders and complete a three-game weekend sweep at Comerica Park. The Tigers actually walked their way to the walk-off, leading to Pérez’s assessment.

Fraser Ellard, who retired Kerry Carpenter on a one-pitch groundout to strand two runners in the eighth and protect a two-run lead, walked Zach McKinstry and Riley Greene to load the bases in the ninth, leading to Jordan Leasure replacing the southpaw and walking Andy Ibá?ez to force in a run. Spencer Torkelson connected on a 1-1 four-seamer from Leasure for a two-run double to left, sending the White Sox (2-7) to a fifth straight setback.

Pérez’s “trust your stuff” mantra makes sense with six White Sox hurlers walking eight, though only two came from Pérez over 6 1/3 stellar innings. But in a game-on-the-line situation such as Sunday, that feeling of trust can get overwhelmed by the moment for a young pitcher.

“You have to slow it down a little bit,” Pérez said. “Sometimes the games go fast and you don't even know. But we learn something new every day and it's part of the game. We lost in the last inning, but we'll be fine, we'll be OK."

Detroit’s ninth-inning rally was more than basic free passes from White Sox relievers. Javier Báez, who played center field for the first time in his career, singled to open the last inning and was erased on Trey Sweeney’s fielder’s-choice grounder.

Sweeney beat the throw to first on a play shortstop Jacob Amaya took on his own, despite it looking a bit easier via a flip to second baseman Brooks Baldwin.

“It was weird, slowly developing there,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Jacob's got a good feel for where he's at, where Brooks is at. And that was just the decision he made. It was one of those you wish he’d had been able to roll it up, but we weren't able to make that play.”

Venable hadn’t seen a replay of the play when meeting with the media postgame. He did watch Ellard battle through a 10-pitch plate appearance with McKinstry before walking him on a pitch well out of the zone. Ellard then walked fellow left-handed hitter Greene on four pitches that weren’t particularly close.

“I’m going to try to go at him and throw what I have and force him to get on -- hats off to him, he fouled off a lot,” said Ellard of the McKinstry battle. “It’s one of those at-bats where you wish you could have a couple of those pitches back, but at the end of the day, the one [where] I’m really kicking myself is the Riley Greene at-bat.

“When our bullpen is in the zone, it’s going to be hard to beat us. We were prepared. We did a good job of executing a lot of stuff today. It really comes down to I walked two guys and those guys came in and scored.”

Ibá?ez worked that eight-pitch walk as Leasure’s first hitter, forcing home the Tigers’ second run, before Torkelson’s connection. These two young relievers were counted on late when Venable went to Cam Booser to face Greene as a pinch-hitter in the seventh after Mike Clevinger had walked two in relief of Pérez, with Booser fanning Greene.

Venable has talked since Spring Training about not having a set closer, even mentioning how the biggest moments might come for his biggest relievers in the seventh or eighth.

“Yeah, that was a really important part of the game, and we were lined up how we wanted there,” Venable said. “Those were the right guys at the right time.

“A tough one. Credit the Tigers there for continuing to battle. But just too many walks out of the bullpen. We expect better out of those guys.”

Pérez hurled six hitless innings in his White Sox debut against the Twins and allowed one run on four hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings and 82 pitches against the Tigers. He has been a veteran voice since joining Chicago via free agency, adding he needs to find a way to talk to these pitchers learning their craft if they ask a question.

Then again, his response would be pretty straightforward.

“In that situation, you just got to go out there and throw the pitch where you want it,” Pérez said. “Trust 100 percent in your pitches and you're going to be good."