The young right-hander flashed elite swing-and-miss stuff, striking out nine over six innings to prove he belongs in Detroit’s future rotation despite a stagnant offensive showing.
Jackson Jobe continues to provide reasons to be encouraged about where he fits in the Tigers rotation going forward.
Detroit lost 3-1 to the White Sox on Saturday, but Jobe gave the Tigers six innings in which his stuff was good enough to keep the game within reach throughout the afternoon. The final line was not spotless, with three runs allowed and a solo home run by Miguel Vargas in the sixth, but the more important takeaway was how consistently Jobe missed bats and controlled Chicago's lineup.
Jobe struck out nine over six innings while allowing four hits and one walk. The White Sox scored against him in the first when Vargas walked, stole second and came home on a Munetaka Murakami single, but Jobe responded by striking out Andrew Benintendi to end the inning. From there, he began settling into one of his better stretches of the afternoon.
The second inning showed what Jobe looked like when everything was working. He struck out Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth back-to-back before getting Braden Montgomery on a groundout. After working around an error in the third, Jobe was even better in the fourth, striking out the side against Murakami, Benintendi and Colson Montgomery.
That ability to generate swing-and-miss has been one of the biggest things to watch with Jobe. The raw stuff has never really been the question. What Detroit needs to see is Jobe using it efficiently enough to put hitters away and work deeper into games. Nine strikeouts in six innings against a major league lineup is another step in that direction.
Chicago took the lead back in the fifth after Braden Montgomery doubled and Brenton Doyle singled, setting up Sam Antonacci's sacrifice fly. Jobe kept the damage to one run, getting Kyle Teel to fly out to end the inning.
The biggest mistake came to begin the sixth. Vargas jumped Jobe for his 33rd home run of the season, extending Chicago's lead to 3-1. It would have been easy for the inning to unravel from there, especially late in Jobe's outing. Instead, he retired the next three hitters, including strikeouts of Benintendi and Colson Montgomery. That sequence might have been the most encouraging part of the start. The home run happened, Jobe moved on, and he finished his afternoon by getting five outs via strikeout over his final two innings.
Detroit's offense simply did not give him much room.
The Tigers tied the game in the fifth when Ben Malgeri was hit by a pitch, Brett Callahan singled and John Peck walked to load the bases. Kevin McGonigle brought Malgeri home with a sacrifice fly, but Hao-Yu Lee struck out to end the inning. An inning later, Detroit loaded the bases again with two outs before Callahan was called out on strikes.
The Tigers continued creating opportunities late but could not capitalize. Max Clark singled in the eighth after Riley Greene was hit by a pitch, and Lee singled with two outs in the ninth, but neither rally produced a run. Spencer Torkelson flew out sharply to center to end it.
