Sean Burke pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits, three walks and five strikeouts as the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. According to Jim Margulus of Sox Machine, Burke is the first White Sox starter to pitch six innings in the last 27 games, including Saturday.

Burke also pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts as the White Sox beat the New York Mets 6-4 on Aug. 21. That was the last time a White Sox starter pitched six innings. The lack of White Sox starters going deeper into games has stressed the bullpen. 

The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Detroit tied it with their only run in the top of the fifth before the White Sox went ahead for good in the bottom of the inning. The White Sox added another run in the bottom of the sixth to close the scoring. 

Burke threw 97 pitches and faced the minimum of nine batters through the first three innings on Saturday. Detroit first threatened to score in the fourth inning with two singles, but both runners were stranded. Detroit had six batters in the fifth and another half dozen in the sixth, but all three runners were left on base.

White Sox bullpen leads MLB in innings pitched

White Sox beat reporter Scott Merkin reported Saturday that the bullpen has thrown a Major League Baseball high of 726.2 innings this season. The Washington Nationals are second, with their bullpen throwing 688.2 innings in 2026. The White Sox bullpen is seventh in MLB with a 3.69 earned run average.

Noah Schultz pitched 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. Grant Taylor allowed one hit in 1.1 innings to earn his 10th save. The White Sox blew an 8-2 lead on Friday with three relievers allowing runs. Getting more quality starts in the last week of the regular season will be critical as the White Sox compete for a playoff spot.