James Shields won for the first time since opening day, Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez homered to lead off a three-run first, and Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Shields (2-7) gave up one run and four hits in seven innings after going 12 starts and 13 appearances without a win. The veteran right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter in his first victory since the opener at Kansas City.
”We’re trying to celebrate each win,” Shields said. ”We’re gonna go game by game and try to win the series and enjoy the moment.”
Moncada said through an interpreter that the White Sox started breaking out the fog machine and strobe lights a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, he and Sanchez got the party started .
They connected on consecutive pitches from Adam Plutko. Matt Davidson drove RBI doubles off the center-field wall in both the first and a two-run fifth , and the White Sox beat the AL Central leaders after losing their first four meetings this season.
Recalled from Triple-A Columbus, Plutko (3-1) got tagged for five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old righty won his first three major league starts this season before getting knocked around by Chicago.
Shields hit Francisco Lindor in the right foot with his first pitch of the game. He also gave up a sacrifice fly to Jose Ramirez in the sixth, but not much else in a dominant outing .
”He doesn’t have the same stuff that he once had Ryan Finley Jersey , so he’s learned how to be a pitcher,” Jason Kipnis said. ”To live on the corners, to get guys to hit off his pitches, and he’s done a good job with it and he did a great job tonight. As a team, we’ve got to make an adjustment faster to that, not be chasing those type of pitches.”
HANGING ON
Cleveland stranded two on in the ninth and came up short after winning five of six.
Xavier Cedeno struck out Jason Kipnis with runners on first and third and one out. Yonder Alonso then took second on indifference before Joakim Soria retired Yan Gomes on a fly to the center-field warning track for his ninth save in 11 chances.
GOING DEEP
Moncada lined a 2-1 pitch over the center-field wall for his fourth career leadoff homer – all this season. Sanchez sent Plutko’s next offering out to right-center, giving Chicago back-to-back drives for the fourth time this season. The White Sox had not started a first inning with consecutive homers since Alen Hanson and Sanchez connected against Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer on Sept. 2.
The Indians optioned catcher and outfielder Francisco Mejia back to Triple-A a day after recalling him, because catcher Roberto Perez did not need to go on the disabled list. Perez was hit by a pitch in the right wrist against Detroit on Sunday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Indians: 2B Kipnis (neck) was back in the lineup after sitting out the previous two games and so was 1B Edwin Encarnacion (ankle) after missing three in a row. … The Indians continue to hold off on activating OF Brandon Guyer (strained neck) after he was hit in the wrist by a pitch during a rehab game for Columbus on Sunday. Manager Terry Francona indicated they might wait until Thursday, when the White Sox send a lefty to the mound in Carlos Rodon. ”We’re just trying to make sure he’s ready,” Francona said.
White Sox: OF Avisail Garcia (strained right hamstring) went 1 for 2 for Triple-A Charlotte against Durham in his first rehab game on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer (5-4, 2.62 ERA) hopes to continue his mastery over the White Sox after going 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against them last year.
White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (2-1, 2.22) tries to build on another strong outing after throwing three-hit ball over six innings in a 1-0 victory over Chris Sale and the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday.
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PHOENIX — Right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano has been spectacularly efficient in his first season in Arizona, part of the reason the Diamondbacks will enter their four-game series against the San Diego Padres with the best bullpen ERA in the majors.
Hirano may be a major league rookie, but his work the last five seasons as a closer with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan has translated well.
Hirano Michael Jordan Jersey , 34, had a franchise-record 26-game scoreless streak broken in an 8-4 loss to St. Louis on Wednesday, when he finished one scoreless appearance short of tying former Red Sox right-hander Koji Uehara for the longest such streak by a Japanese-born pitcher in major league history. Even that loss could not diminish the value Hirano has had this season.
Arizona right-hander Shelby Miller is scheduled to face San Diego left-hander Eric Lauer in the first game of the series Thursday.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo was Boston’s bench coach when Uehara set the record in 2013, so he can provide a comparison of Uehara and Hirano.
“They have the same work habits, which is pretty impressive,” Lovullo said. “They both come in and get their work done pregame. They come in and get their work done postgame. They find themselves healthy and strong and prepared for every single one of their outings.
“They both have a fearlessness to their game and an approach to understanding what needs to happen during each at-bat. They are not afraid to put the ball on the plate with two different pitches. They go out and expect to get outs. Very similar mind-set. Very similar makeup. Very similar confidence.”
Hirano is 2-0 with a 1.43 ERA in 42 appearances. He has 19 holds, fourth in the majors, and he has permitted only one of his 16 inherited runners to score while being primarily used in the seventh inning. Eighth-inning reliever Archie Bradley leads the majors with 22 holds and closer Brad Boxberger has 20 saves.
Uehara began the 2013 season in a similar setup role in the Boston bullpen before advancing to the closer’s role after injuries thinned the relief corps. He finished with 21 saves http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-hunter-renfrow-jersey , a 1.09 ERA and an 0.57 WHIP.
“As soon as he became the closer, he gave off a certain edge and a certain confidence that was noticeable,” Lovullo said.
“It’s as close to a slam dunk, shut-down ninth-inning save as I’ve ever seen. He had this ability to collect outs and get through innings in 12 pitches or less. It was so quick, the ninth inning was over before it even started. It was a very comfortable setting for all of us. You played the Boston Red Sox in 2013 for eight innings because the ninth inning was over. That’s what I remember.”
Hirano has a 1.01 WHIP, fourth among major league relievers with at least 40 appearances.
“He’s been very versatile,” Lovullo said. “He’s unfazed by any role we have asked him to do. He can pitch in traffic. He can start clean innings. He can get left-handers and right-handers out.”
The Diamondbacks lost two of three to St. Louis and have dropped five of their past six games overall. They took two out of three games in their only other series against the Padres this season, also at Chase Field.
San Diego has slumped over the last 2 1/2 weeks. The Padres have lost three in a row and are 3-13 since beating Atlanta 9-3 behind left-hander Clayton Richard on June 15. They have scored 30 runs in their last 10 games.
“We’re not getting hits with runners in scoring position Zach Brown Jersey ,” San Diego manager Andy Green told reporters after a two-game sweep in Oakland.
“Sometimes the best thing you can do is relax, go play baseball and enjoy what you’re doing. Then the hits start coming.”
Christian Villanueva hit his 17th homer for the Padres in a 4-2 loss to the A’s Wednesday.
Miller is 0-2 with an 11.42 ERA in two starts this season after returning from a 14-month absence following Tommy John surgery in last May, 2017. He has given up 15 hits and 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings.
Miller is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA in eight career appearances, including seven starts, against the Padres. He had a strong outing against them early last season, giving up four hits and one run in 7 1/3 innings in the third of his four starts before suffering the elbow injury.
Rookie Lauer joined the Padres’ rotation in late April and is 3-5 with a 5.08 ERA in 13 starts this season. He was 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA in six June starts and is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in seven road starts.