Sale strikes out 15 as White Sox beat Rays

Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chris Sale nearly made White Sox history in a dominating victory.

Sale struck out a career-high 15, Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer and Chicago extended its winning streak to six games with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

“A special day … it was awesome,” said Sale, who is from nearby Lakeland. “It’s nice, especially growing up and being kind of a Tampa Bay Rays fan. My uncle brought me here to the first game. It was the day after my birthday.”

Sale (6-2) gave up one run, three hits and walked two in 7 1-3 innings while finishing one strikeout shy of the team record. Jack Harshman struck out 16 against Boston on July 25, 1954.

“I didn’t know what the record was,” Sale said. “That’s something I’m not really worried about. I knew I had quite a few there late in the game, but it’s the same thing just like any other day. You go out there and you try not to focus on all the external stuff that might get in the way of you doing your job.”

Sale struck out his 15th batter, Jose Molina, with a runner on third and two outs in the seventh. He retired his final batter, Rich Thompson, on a grounder to lead off the eighth.

“You know what, that guy could have punched out a lot of teams 15 times,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “His stuff was that good. The entire package, what he did, was good. A lot of awareness out there.”

The 15 strikeouts was the most ever by one pitcher at Tropicana Field.

“He’s special,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “I think that’s what you’re seeing is him being able to kind of manage the game and go for a strikeout and get ahead and all of those things.”

After Jesse Crain got the final two outs in the eighth, Addison Reed pitched the ninth for his fifth save and complete a three-hitter.

Chicago took a 2-1 lead during the sixth when Gordon Beckham singled and scored on Dunn’s 16th homer. Dunn has gone deep 11 times in May.

“You get some guys on and he can do a lot of damage,” Ventura said. “It was just one of those that he hits perfect, and he probably didn’t even feel it. He hit it that good.”

Matt Moore (1-5) allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings for Tampa Bay. The left-hander, who given up 19 runs over 19 2-3 innings in his previous four starts, struck out 10 and walked one.

“That’s two of the best young pitchers that have come through in a long time,” Dunn said. “You had to kind of focus and not get caught up in what they were doing. Those two guys are something special, man. For sure.” RANGERS 4, MARINERS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas — Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz both homered before combining on a big defensive play, and Matt Harrison pitched eight strong innings to lead Texas past Seattle.

Napoli homered for the second game in a row when he hit a tiebreaking, three-run shot in the sixth off reliever Steve Delabar (1-1). Cruz went deep in the second to help the Rangers win their fourth straight game.

Harrison (6-3) struck out five and walked none. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 11th save in 12 chances.

Brendan Ryan hit an RBI triple in the eighth and was thrown out trying for an inside-the-park homer on a relay that went from Cruz to second baseman Ian Kinsler to Napoli.

RED SOX 7, TIGERS 4

BOSTON — Felix Doubront pitched six innings of four-hit ball, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered.

The victory was tainted by an injury to 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, who left in the fifth inning with a jammed right thumb. The Tigers played most of the game without manager Jim Leyland and third-base coach Gene Lamont, ejected following a disputed foul tip in the second.

Doubront (5-2) gave up home runs to Gerald Laird and Delmon Young and just a pair of singles.

Doug Fister (0-3) allowed six runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings.

TWINS 5, ATHLETICS 4

MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Morneau drove in two runs for Minnesota, including the tying double in the eighth, as the Twins sent Oakland to its sixth straight loss.

Matt Capps was booed when he took the mound but bounced back from his first blown attempt of the season the day before by striking out his final batter, Jonny Gomes, with the bases loaded in the ninth for his 10th save. Minnesota stopped a five-game skid.

Alex Burnett (2-0) gave up an RBI single to Kurt Suzuki in the eighth that put the A’s in front 4-3 after Jeff Gray walked back-to-back batters with one out. The loser was Ryan Cook (1-1), who entered the game without a run and just four hits allowed in 23 innings this year.

INDIANS 8, ROYALS 5

CLEVELAND — Jose Lopez had three RBIs, Jason Kipnis drove in two runs and Josh Tomlin (2-2) gave up four runs and four hits in five innings as Cleveland broke a three-game losing streak.

Kipnis had a two-run single in a five-run third inning off Nate Adcock (0-3) as the first-place Indians maintained a half-game lead in the AL Central over the White Sox. Cleveland had lost three in a row at Chicago over the weekend.

Chris Perez got a standing ovation as he worked a perfect ninth for his 17th save. His only blown save came on opening day.

BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 2

TORONTO — Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson each hit a two-run homer, Drew Hutchison struck out a career-high nine in seven shutout innings and Toronto beat Baltimore to end a five-game losing streak.

Encarnacion hit his 16th homer in the third. Last year, he did not hit his first home run until May 29. He finished with 17.

The Orioles have lost three straight and six of eight. They remained tied with Tampa Bay atop the AL East.

Hutchison (4-2) allowed three hits, all singles, in the longest of his eight big league starts. Casey Janssen got two outs for his fourth save as the Blue Jays (25-24) avoided falling below .500 for the first time this season.

All six Toronto runs came off Tommy Hunter (2-3), winless in six starts since beating the Blue Jays on April 24.

PHILLIES 8, METS 4

NEW YORK — Ty Wigginton drove in a career-high six runs with a homer and a pair of two-out hits and Cole Hamels won his eighth straight decision to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Mets 8-4 Monday.

A day after the Phillies lost Roy Halladay to shoulder soreness after two innings, Hamels (8-1) allowed four runs and seven hits in eight innings to match St. Louis’ Lance Lynn for the major league lead in wins.

Philadelphia won for the fifth time in six games following a season-long four-game losing streak.

David Wright went 0 for 4 and is hitless in 14 at-bats. Bobby Parnell (1-1) lost as the Mets’ three-game winning streak ended.

CARDINALS 8, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA — Lance Lynn (8-1) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, stretching the Braves’ losing streak to eight.

Atlanta is on its worst skid since losing nine straight from April 21-29, 2010. The Braves have given up seven runs or more in four straight games for the first time since five in a row from July 26-30, 2008, according to STATS LLC.

Daniel Descalso hit a two-run homer. Atlanta’s Tommy Hanson (5-4) gave up six runs and eight hits in 3 1-3 innings.

MARLINS 5, NATIONALS 3

MIAMI — Giancarlo Stanton hit his 11th home run in May, one short of the Marlins’ record for a month.

Stanton tied the score in the sixth with his 12th homer of the year, Logan Morrison homered and scored twice, and Hanley Ramirez had three hits and a sacrifice fly.

Struggling closer Heath Bell pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in 12 chances. Bell had failed to finish the ninth in his previous two outings.

Carlos Zambrano (3-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings. Jordan Zimmermann (3-5) hit his first career homer but couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead.

CUBS 11, PADRES 7

CHICAGO — Alfonso Soriano hit a go-ahead homer and Chicago stopped its 12-game losing streak with a victory over San Diego.

The Cubs’ skid was their worst since they opened the 1997 season with 14 straight losses.

Winds were blowing out at gusts up to 35 mph on a 90-degree day at Wrigley Field, and the ball was flying. There were eight home runs, including four by each team and two from San Diego’s Chase Headley, and a total of 17 extra-base hits.

Chicago trailed 7-6 in the sixth inning when Soriano launched a drive off Alex Hinshaw (0-1) over the right-field bleachers onto Waveland Avenue.

Soriano had three hits and drove in three runs. Ian Stewart and Starlin Castro each homered and drove in three for the Cubs. Darwin Barney also homered and David DeJesus tripled twice.

Randy Wells (1-1) won in relief.

San Diego lost its fourth in a row. The Padres hadn’t hit more than two home runs in a game all season and came into the game last in the majors with 18 overall.

GIANTS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2

SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Zito outpitched Trevor Cahill in a matchup of former Oakland Athletics All-Stars, and Brandon Belt hit an RBI triple to help San Francisco beat Arizona.

Gregor Blanco doubled twice, drove in a run and made a pretty, game-ending catch on the warning track in right with two runners aboard. Blanco also scored on a double steal in the Giants’ three-run first.

Zito (4-2) allowed two runs in seven-plus innings to win for the third time in four starts, bouncing back from a rough outing at Milwaukee. Santiago Casilla earned his 13th save in 14 chances.

Cahill (2-5), traded to the Diamondbacks in December by the rebuilding A’s, is 0-3 in five starts since winning May 1 at Washington. He gave up four runs in six innings.

PIRATES 4, REDS 1

PITTSBURGH — James McDonald (4-2) scattered five hits over eight shutout innings and Pittsburgh climbed back to .500.

Pedro Alvarez, Rod Barajas and Neil Walker all had two hits apiece and knocked in a run for the Pirates (24-24), who won their season-high fourth and reached .500 for the first time since their fourth game.

Joel Hanrahan got the final out for his 12th save.

Bronson Arroyo (2-3) gave up four runs and eight hits in four innings. The Reds lost for just the second time in 10 games.

BREWERS 3, DODGERS 2

LOS ANGELES — Aramis Ramirez hit a tying homer and singled in the go-ahead run to help Milwaukee defeat Los Angeles.

Shaun Marcum (3-3) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked two to end a two-game skid. John Axford pitched the ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.

Ramirez homered leading off the fourth in his return to the lineup after missing two games with a bruised left elbow.

The Brewers took a 3-1 lead in the sixth with two unearned runs following a blown call by first base umpire Todd Tichenor. Aaron Harang (3-3) gave up three runs — one earned — and four hits in five-plus innings.

ROCKIES 9, ASTROS 7

ROCKIES 7, ASTROS 6 (10)

DENVER — Dexter Fowler capped a big day at the plate with a game-ending triple in the 10th inning to give Colorado a doubleheader sweep of Houston.

Fowler, who hit a leadoff homer in the first, lined a pitch from Brett Myers (0-2) past diving first baseman Carlos Lee and the ball ended up in the right-field corner as Michael Cuddyer, who singled, scored from first.

Josh Roenicke (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th and the Rockies improved to 8-18 this month.

Fowler batted leadoff for the first time all season and he reached base nine times in 11 trips to the plate Monday, with a sacrifice bunt accounting for one of the times he didn’t.

In the opener of the Astros’ first doubleheader since 2006, Jordan Pacheco blooped a tiebreaking, two-run single for the Rockies after an eighth-inning error by Houston shortstop Jed Lowrie.

Matt Belisle (2-2) pitched a scoreless inning and Rafael Betancourt got three outs for his ninth save.

Fernando Rodriguez (1-5) was the loser.