Matt Davidson had his first career triple and first home run as a member of the Chicago White Sox in an 11-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

 

Geovany Soto, the catcher who joined the White Sox as a free agent this offseason, added his first two home runs for Chicago to help give Rick Renteria his first victory as the team's manager.

 

James Shields (1-0) threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out five. Shields allowed Tyler Collins' solo homer in the second inning to open the scoring, but the Tigers managed only four hits.

 

Soto's three-run home run in the third made it 5-1 and chased left-hander Matthew Boyd (0-1).

 

Derek Holland (7-9, 4.95) will make his White Sox debut Friday as the homestand continues against the Minnesota Twins.

 

>>Schwarber's Home Run Lifts Cubs Past Cardinals

 

In a most sticky situation, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina couldn't find a ball that clung to his chest protector and the Chicago Cubs turned the bizarre play into a late rally, beating St. Louis 6-4 Thursday.

 

The Cardinals led 4-2 in the seventh inning when things became crazy at Busch Stadium.

 

Pinch hitter Matt Szczur led off by striking out on a pitch from Brett Cecil that skipped in the dirt. The ball bounced into Molina's protector and appeared to get trapped by a sticky substance.

 

Molina kept looking around for the ball, and only found it once Szczur was at first base. The Gold Glove catcher gave a bemused look and smiled.

 

The Cubs capitalized when a walk set up Kyle Schwarber's go-ahead home run.

 

John Lackey (1-0) threw six solid innings against his former team and new Cubs closer Wade Davis got his second save.

 

Addison Russell drove in a pair of runs on groundouts for Chicago.

 

St. Louis starter Lance Lynn went 5 1-3 innings in his first appearance since Oct. 2, 2015. The right-hander, who'd been out since having Tommy John surgery, gave up two runs and five hits.

 

Cubs LHP Brett Anderson will face Milwaukee RHP Jimmy Nelson in the first of a three-game set in Milwaukee on Friday. Anderson will be making his Cubs debut after eight seasons with Oakland (2009-2013), Colorado (2014) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2015-16)

 

Cardinals RHP Mike Leake will face Cincinnati LHP Amir Garrett when St. Louis concludes its season-opening homestand with the first of a three games on Friday. Leake has won 10 or more games in four of the last six seasons.