The AL Central-favorite Tigers' greatest weakness was on display to the sellout crowd of 38,676 at U.S. Cellular Field Friday, with Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young doing nothing to dispel the notion that they're both defensive liabilities.
Young botched a pair of balls hit his direction, the second of which led to the White Sox adding an insurance run in the eighth. And Cabrera whiffed on a barehanded attempt at a grounder in the second that nearly cost the Tigers an early run.
Meanwhile, the Sox saved their fourth win of the season thanks to a pair of outstanding defensive plays -- one from an unexpected source, and the other from someone who should've won a Gold Glove by now.
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In the top of the seventh, Detroit had runners on second and third with two out and Andy Dirks up at the plate. Dirks laced a line drive into left off Addison Reed, but Dayan Viciedo got a good read on the ball and made a spectacular diving catch, saving a pair of runs from scoring that would've put the Tigers up by a run.
"My first reaction was to definitely make sure I caught the ball," Viciedo said. "Fortunately for me, Alejandro De Aza told me to move over for that play, and fortunately, I was in the right position. So I just had to make sure that I caught the ball."
While the catch may have been surprising given Viciedo's previous defensive struggles in left, one of his teammates wasn't shocked.
"He's very athletic, so what he did out there doesn't surprise me," said Alexei Ramirez through a translator. "He can do great things out on the field."
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Despite Viciedo's play, Robin Ventura still went ahead and used Brent Lillibridge as a defensive replacement the following inning. Although the latter party joked he was a little confused by the move.
"After that play, I was like 'you guys really need me to go out there, because I think we're good,'" laughed Lillibridge.
An inning later, Cabrera stepped in with runners at the corners and one out against Matt Thornton. But Cabrera's ground ball up the middle was stopped on a diving effort by Alexei Ramirez, who shoveled the ball to Gordon Beckham, who made a quick pivot to turn a run-and-lead-saving double play.
"A good day for the Cubans today," smiled Jake Peavy. "We're liking the Cubans on our side of town. These guys were awesome today. The plays that Alexei and Dayan made saved the game, ultimately."
While it bears repeating that Ramirez should've been awarded a Gold Glove by now, Viciedo's a long ways off from that point. Switching positions twice certainly hasn't helped, but both changes were necessary for his own career and the White Sox.
"You gotta tip your hat to Dayan Viciedo. The kid's worked his rear end off," Peavy said. "He's been moved all around the field and he's never complained about it one time. It's not like he's going to win a Gold Glove this year, but the effort you see him give, the way he goes about his business, the way he works in between starts, I think that's indicative of our team and indicative of our staff in the way we're going to go about things."
Viciedo's comfort level has slowly been rising in left, which also could explain his solid offensive performance to start the season.
"During spring training when he was struggling offensively, it carried out in the field and compounded things," Lillibridge said. "He wanted to do well in spring training to prove he should be out there every day. Once he started swinging at the end of spring training, which is obviously a perfect time to do it, it just came back. Confidence kind of leads into everything. It's hard not to take it on the field one way or another"
While Viciedo may be a work in progress defensively, a diving catch like he made can only help the 23-year-old's confidence. And he certainly seemed confident after the game, speaking about his long-term defensive outlook.
"I definitely feel I will be good defensively," Viciedo said. "Its a matter of continuing to practice every day. The more I get accustomed to it, the more comfortable Ill be."