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 After two of his worst outings, Sale has bounced back in dominant
fashion each of his last two starts, including Sunday against the
rival Chicago Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field.
Sale started with a flurry and finished with a storm to lead the
White Sox to a 3-1 victory to avert a series sweep by the Cubs. The
ace left-hander threw seven scoreless innings, tied a career high
with 15 strikeouts and made sure the White Sox (55-60) kept
possession of the Crosstown Cup, after splitting the season series
three wins apiece.
"I felt loose," Sale said. "I felt good. I never put too much
emphasis on pregame bullpens or the first inning, but you know, I
knew if I could corral it and keep it together, I could possibly get
deep into the game."
Sale, who allowed one hit, wasn't the only White Sox pitcher
throwing strikes.
Right-handed reliever Nate Jones struck out the Cubs in order in the
eighth to give the White Sox 18 strikeouts as a team. According to
Baseball-Reference.com, that set a new franchise record for a
nine-inning game.
The loss ended a nine-game winning streak for the Cubs (67-49), who
were overmatched by Sale for the second time this season. He also
beat them July 11 at Wrigley Field by striking out 10 in seven
innings.
This time, Sale (11-7) struck out the side in the first, fourth and
seventh, and registered at least one strikeout in every inning he
threw.
"He was really good," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "The best thing
we did is we got his pitch count up enough to get him out of there
before the ninth inning, but his changeup was spectacular, his
fastball was good, he had command of all his pitches and he's a
tough guy for us right now. He's a tough guy for a lot of teams, but
he's really tough for us."
The only time Sale got into trouble was the sixth, when the Cubs
loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batter and their only hit, a
one-out single by Dexter Fowler. He escaped by striking out rookie
Kris Bryant, the Cubs' designated hitter, and right fielder Jorge
Soler for the second and third outs.
Including the outing at Wrigley Field, Sale has struck out Bryant
all six times he's faced the Cubs' young star, three times in each
start. Sale also fanned catcher Miguel Montero three times Sunday,
and easily struck out first baseman Anthony Rizzo twice prior to
hitting him in the arm with a 99-mph fastball in the sixth.
"He was ready to go," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He was
fantastic today. I don't know, (there's) not too many times he's
been better than that. He was darn near unhittable for the time he
was in there."
Soler hit a solo homer off closer David Robertson in the ninth for
the Cubs' only run. The White Sox got solo home runs from first
baseman Jose Abreu in the third, shortstop Alexei Ramirez in the
fourth and left fielder Melky Cabrera in the fifth to give Sale a
3-0 lead.
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It was more than enough. Sale and Jones dominated, and closer David
Robertson picked up his 24th save.
Dan Haren, a right-hander, took the loss after pitching just 4 2/3
innings and allowing all three homers. Haren was hit hard on the
right foot on a ground ball in the second, but stayed in the game.
It didn't take long for Sale to assert his dominance on a hot, sunny
day. He struck out the side in the first inning and then proceeded
to overwhelm the Cubs the remainder of his outing.
His final inning was equally impressive, striking out the side once
again. Sale, who leads the American League with 208 strikeouts,
topped the 200-strikeout plateau for the third straight season. That
tied him with White Sox legend Ed Walsh as the only pitchers in
franchise history to record at least that many strikeouts in three
straight seasons.
Sale also extended his own franchise records by recording his 17th
career outing with 12-or-more strikeouts and 29th career start with
double-digit whiffs -- 11th this season.
"He made us look silly, but that's what he does," Rizzo said. "It
was a small victory to get him out of there (after) the seventh, to
get his pitch count up by striking out a bunch."
NOTES: The White Sox designated veteran UTL Emilio Bonifacio for
assignment Sunday and reinstated OF J.B. Shuck from the 15-day
disabled list. Shuck had a left hamstring strain that landed him on
the DL Aug. 1. Bonifacio, 30, hit .167 (13-for-78) with two doubles,
four RBIs and five runs in 47 games (15 starts) this season. ...
Cubs manager Joe Maddon used a different DH for the third straight
game as a way to get some of his young stars a little rest without
sitting them out. Sunday, rookie 3B Kris Bryant handled the DH role,
after RF Jorge Soler did it Saturday and rookie C/LF Kyle Schwarber
took at bats at that spot Friday. ... White Sox manager Robin
Ventura put 1B Jose Abreu in the second slot in the batting order
and moved rookie 3B Tyler Saladino down to ninth. Saladino had hit
second since being recalled July 10 from Triple-A Charlotte.
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