DETROIT -- Manager Pedro Grifol didn’t say anything on Friday afternoon that he hasn’t already said far too many times this season for his taste: The White Sox have the right mindset to win, but the execution is lacking.

Chicago is also certainly making an effort; sometimes maybe pushing a bit too hard as was the case at the end of Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park. Still, despite a dominant start from the opposing pitcher, the game could’ve gone either way at any point right up to -- and including -- the final out.

With that in mind, here were three turning points in the series opener:

Pham sets the tone
Tommy Pham's been back from the injured list for a week now, and he’s done his best to bring a spark in each of his seven games. Pham finished 2-for-4 in the series opener at Comerica Park and hit a solo homer in the fifth inning that ended Tigers starter Jack Flaherty’s scoreless streak at 20 2/3 innings.

While not enough to get Chicago over the hump Friday, Pham is setting an example since his return from a left ankle sprain that sidelined him for 11 days, and the White Sox hope the success is contagious.

Pham, an 11-year veteran of the Major Leagues, is also smart enough to know when he’s hot and when he needs to practice patience: While he’s hitting just .193 (11-for-57) across his past 15 games, he’s also riding an eight-game on-base streak during which he’s drawn eight walks. Pham led off the third inning with a single, and then stole his first bag since the injury, getting such a good jump off Flaherty that Pham needed to slow down before he reached second base well ahead of the tag.

Pham’s homer represented Chicago’s lone run, but he continued to create opportunities that won’t always go unseized. At 112.4 and 108.2 mph, he also had the two hardest-hit balls of the game. In short, the White Sox can take a lot from their intense, driven left fielder. Even if it doesn’t always translate directly to the scoreboard.

“[Pham is] doing something every day to help us win,” Grifol said. “That’s something he says every day -- ‘I’ll do something to help us win.’ It’s a great mentality, and that’s why he’s been around the league for a long time, and he’s a winner.”

Fedde adjusts on the fly
Erick Fedde did not have a bad game. One sweeper in the middle of the plate did all the damage against him during a seven-inning, two-run outing that marked his third consecutive quality start, but still, Fedde wanted to do better.

So, after he allowed the two-run homer to Carson Kelly in the second, Fedde turned to pitching coach Ethan Katz between innings. He then marched back out to the mound, and after a single to open the third, retired the final 14 Tigers he faced.

“If we’re not winning, we’d better be learning and growing, so we're trying to do that,” Fedde said. “I want to give a shout out to Katz. My first two innings were a little rough, and he made a great adjustment with me and adjusting [the] game plan and seeing stuff that was going on.”

DeJong (mistakenly) hits the gas
A play review showed that Paul DeJong was hit on the right forearm by a pitch with one out in the ninth, which sent him to first representing the tying run with one out and pinch-hitter Andrew Benintendi at the plate.

Benintendi’s routine flyout to center field wasn’t the end of the world, but DeJong had mistaken the number of outs and was already around second by the time the throw came in from the outfield to double him off first and end the game.

“It was a mental lapse there,” DeJong admitted. “I was worried about getting on base and just didn’t keep track of [the outs], so that’s totally on me and it cost us the game.”