DETROIT -- David Robertson did a mock fist pump as he passed reporters in the clubhouse hall after Monday night’s contest.
The White Sox closer bounced back from his roughest week of the season with a strong effort in his team’s 3-2 victory in Game 2 of a split doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. Robertson struck out two, including Victor Martinez with the tying run aboard, to convert his 31st save. He credited his best performance in eight days to work in the bullpen done earlier in the day with coach Bobby Thigpen.
“I’ve been working on a few things,” Robertson said. “Not anything in particular. My arm slot has been getting really high. Today in the ‘pen, me and Bobby were talking about it when I was warming up. I found a comfort zone a little lower than normal. You guys probably don’t notice the difference, but in my head I notice it.”
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While the variance in arm slot wasn’t as easy to detect, the difference in Robertson’s stuff was more noticeable as he got strikes on five of seven curveballs, including three swings and misses.
Robertson gave up a broken-bat single with one out but struck out James McCann and Martinez to close out his first clean save since Sept. 6. In the previous week, Robertson blew one save as well as a four-run lead in another game and allowed a two-run homer before converting an opportunity on Saturday night -- a game he ended with a pickoff of Abraham Almonte.
He struck out Martinez on a 3-2 curveball.
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“I had to make a good pitch,” Robertson said. “I couldn’t throw one that was up high enough that he could hit. I had to throw one that looked like a strike that wasn’t a strike and get him to swing. I got lucky he didn’t take it.
"It’s definitely nice to go out there and not give up three or four runs like I’ve been doing. I’m very happy about that.”
Robertson has now converted 31 of 38 save tries (81.5 percent) this season.