​CHICAGO — After a 3-3 homestand that featured Ozzie Guillén’s number retirement ceremony and a pope hat giveaway, the Chicago White Sox headed out for their biggest trip in five years following Thursday’s 9-8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.A three-game showdown in Detroit begins Friday, followed by Round 2 of the City Series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.It’s a significant test for a young Sox team thrust into a pennant race and comes at a time when the rotation is in flux and key players such as Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters are struggling. The momentum from the series win against the Cleveland Guardians was lost after the Cincy series.“There’s a reason we only have one four-game losing streak,” starter Davis Martin said. “We just do a really good job of segmenting series, compartmentalizing each series into what it is. It’s a kick in the teeth. You pick yourself up tomorrow and do it again.”Here are some hot-button topics heading into the Motown showdown.Brouhaha eruptsMartin was ejected in the third inning Thursday after throwing two pitches at the head of Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, who had homered in the first inning. The second one grazed the bill of Stewart”s helmet and sent it flying. Stewart then walked out of the box and yelled at Martin: “Hey, (bleep), that’s twice.”Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches were thrown. After a brief huddle by the umpires, plate ump and crew chief Alan Porter ejected Martin without any warning issued.Porter told a pool reporter that it was a judgment call based on several things, including Stewart admiring his home run. He gave Martin the benefit of the doubt on the first close pitch, then deemed the second one as intentional.“The (first) pitch went well above his head, but (was) definitely in his direction,” Porter said. “And then he hit him with the next pitch, and at that point we needed to do what we needed to do to keep the game safe, basically.”Martin said there was no intent, pointing to a blister on his middle finger that caused him to lose his grip.“Made eye contact (with Stewart), said ‘My bad,’ ” he said of the first pitch. “I had no intention of doing that. The second one we were trying to drive a fastball down and away to reset and just lost it again. Blister on the finger, probably lost a little bit of a grip there.”Added manager Will Venable: “I understand the position the umpires are in, but there’s no intent.”Venable mentioned the blister as an issue, but it was after Martin had been ejected. The location of the pitches made it look like intent.“Anything above the waist would raise the eyebrows, and the higher up you go, a little bit higher,” Porter said.Martin’s bluesMartin was pitching on short rest after starting and throwing only one inning Sunday in a rain-interrupted game against the Guardians. He allowed three first-inning runs on two home runs Thursday, continuing a trend: Martin now has a 6.00 ER