Sale outpitches Lester, White Sox beat Cubs
Chris Sale dominated into the eighth inning while outpitching Jon Lester, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cubs 5-1 Saturday for their ninth win in 11 games.
Sale (8-4) showed why he was picked to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, helping the White Sox move into position to sweep the weekend series with their crosstown rivals. Lester’s winless streak reached 10 starts.
The South Siders took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI triple by rookie Tyler Saladino for his first major league hit and a run-scoring single by Jose Abreu.
They broke open the game with three more in the seventh against Lester (4-8), making the most of third baseman Kris Bryant’s errant throw on Avisail Garcia’s grounder. The rookie’s 11th error put runners on second and third with no outs.
Alexei Ramirez then singled in a run and Tyler Flowers had a two-run double for a 5-0 lead, more than enough support for Sale.
The lanky left-hander gave up one run and six hits He departed after Anthony Rizzo led off the eighth with a single.
Sale struck out 10 after his record-tying streak of eight consecutive starts with at least 10 Ks was stopped by Toronto on Monday.
Lester, who signed a $155 million contract in the offseason, is 0-6 since he beat Pittsburgh on May 16.
The left-hander was charged with four earned runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out eight without a walk.
Lester, who took a no-hitter to the seventh against St. Louis on Monday, retired 14 in a row before Melky Cabrera singled leading off the seventh. Bryant then overthrew first after fielding Garcia’s grounder, and the White Sox tacked on three more runs.
The Cubs scored with one out in the bottom half on an RBI double by Jonathan Herrera, batting for Lester. Before that hit, White Sox pitchers went 30 1/3 innings without allowing a run.
National League
Colorado 3, Atlanta 2: Carlos Gonzalez hit a bases-loaded bloop single that dropped between charging center fielder Cameron Maybin and backpedaling shortstop Andrelton Simmons in the ninth inning Saturday, driving in the decisive run in the Colorado Rockies’ 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Misfortune hit the Braves at the outset of the Rockies’ late rally. Reliever Jason Grilli (3-4) tumbled to the ground and suffered a lower left leg injury as he ran toward first to cover the bag when Drew Stubbs, the first batter he faced, hit a grounder that first baseman Chris Johnson ranged to his right to field.
Grilli appeared to take a bad step and crumpled to the ground, grabbing his lower left leg in pain. Stubbs was safe on what was ruled a hit.
Miami 14, Cincinnati 3: The Miami Marlins lost All-Star second baseman Dee Gordon to a dislocated left thumb Saturday, and they responded with a franchise-record offensive outburst, beating Cincinnati 14-3.
Gordon was hurt in the seventh inning sliding headfirst into first base for his third infield hit. He left the game for a pinch runner. The hit was the second of nine straight, a Marlins record, and they scored eight runs in the inning.
Gordon, who leads the majors with 122 hits, was chosen to start in the All-Star Game for the first time. The Marlins were already without All-Star right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, sidelined since June 26 because of a broken left hand.
N.Y. Mets 4, Arizona 2: Matt Harvey pitching seven strong innings and hit his first career home run to lead the New York Mets to a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Lucas Duda homered for the second consecutive game and Ruben Tejada also went deep for the Mets.
After giving up a two-run homer to David Peralta in the first inning, Harvey (8-6) settled into a groove and scattered just four singles over his last six innings.
Jeurys Familia got the last three outs for his 26th save.
It was another solid pitching performance for the Mets, who have allowed just 23 earned runs over their last 142 innings.
American League
Minnesota 9, Detroit 5: Torii Hunter’s towering two-run homer into the third deck against his former team highlighted a 16-hit afternoon for Minnesota, and the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 9-5 on Saturday.
Trevor Plouffe and Eddie Rosario each had three hits and scored twice, and the bottom five batters in the Twins lineup combined for six RBIs and 11 hits in 19 at-bats. Aaron Hicks hit a two-run triple in the third inning that finished Alfredo Simon’s start.
Phil Hughes (8-6) gave up a home run to Victor Martinez and a two-run single to James McCann in the fourth, but he took a 7-0 lead into that inning.
Tampa Bay 3, Houston 0: Jake Odorizzi won in his first start in five weeks, Rene Rivera drove in two runs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the sliding Houston Astros 3-0 on Saturday.
Odorizzi (5-5) scattered two hits, walked three and struck out five over 5 2/3 innings in his initial appearance since straining his left oblique June 5. Brad Boxberger, the fourth Rays reliever, pitched the ninth for his 22nd save to complete a three-hitter.
Houston has scored just four runs during a five-game losing streak.