|
 Danks recorded his first complete game since 2011 and blanked the
Astros 6-0 on Sunday at Minute Maid Park, leading the Chicago White
Sox to victory in the rubber match of this three-game series.
Danks (3-4) posted his first complete game since Aug. 27, 2011,
against Seattle while also recording his third career shutout. He
had surrendered 11 earned runs over his last two starts and 10 1/3
innings, but against the Astros (31-20), Danks was in control from
the first pitch.
"That's fun," Danks said. "I hadn't been back in Texas since
Christmas. It's nice to have friends and family and people who care
about me here. I hadn't had a whole lot of luck with family in town,
so maybe I broke that curse too. Very satisfying to have a good game
and get a win.
"It's good. I've been saying for the last five days that I need a
good one. It's just the last couple I've struggled. Hopefully this
will jumpstart a nice little run. That's the goal every time out. Go
as deep as possible and give us a chance to win. These guys scored
plenty of runs, enough to kind of let us relax."
Danks scattered 10 hits and matched his season high of 118 pitches,
including 82 strikes. He walked one batter and posted six
strikeouts.
"Command-wise, when he can throw his fastball and place it in there
and get a strike, and then take a little off and get them swinging
out front (he's effective)," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of
Danks. "It's an aggressive group over there. He has to be able to be
around the zone and be able to commit them swinging-wise on his
off-speed stuff. He was good fastball-wise in the zone."
The White Sox (23-26) provided early run support against Houston
right-hander Roberto Hernandez, scratching across one run on three
singles in the second inning before expanding their lead to 4-0 with
a three-run third inning.
Center fielder Adam Eaton (single), left fielder Melky Cabrera
(double), and first baseman Adam LaRoche (walk) reached in
succession to open the third. Eaton and Cabrera then scored on a
two-run single by designated hitter Conor Gillaspie. Shortstop
Alexei Ramirez followed with a run-scoring groundout, taking
advantage of a poor decision by Astros right fielder George
Springer, whose late throw home on the Gillaspie single enabled
Ramirez to advance to third base.
The Astros were guilty of several baserunning blunders throughout
the series, with shortstop Jonathan Villar adding a key one in the
finale.
With Houston trailing 4-0, Villar opened the fifth inning with a
triple to straightaway center field. However, Villar attempted to
score on the play, following the advice of third-base coach Gary
Pettis. Ramirez nailed Villar with a relay throw.
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White Sox shortstop Carlos Sanchez added an RBI single in the sixth
inning before LaRoche drilled his sixth home run the opposite way to
left field off Astros right-hander Jake Buchanan in the seventh.
"We threw out some runners, got some double plays in some big
defensive spots to save some runs," LaRoche said. "It was good. We
hit the ball with runners in scoring position and pushed some runs
across. We just need to be more consistent with that."
Hernandez (2-4) allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and
one walk with two strikeouts before departing with two outs in the
sixth.
Villar committed a throwing error in the sixth, allowing Ramirez to
reach. Ramirez scored the fifth Chicago run on the Sanchez base hit.
"I talked to Villar on the bench, I talked to Villar after the
game," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We talk about good things
that we do and follow up. The communication is constant in good
times and bad. But obviously this isn't the forum you're going to
talk about correcting things."
NOTES: White Sox 1B Jose Abreu missed his second consecutive game
with right index finger inflammation and remains day-to-day. Abreu,
who re-aggravated the injury in the series opener on Friday night
and departed in the eighth inning, has received steady treatment and
is eyeing a return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Texas
Rangers. ... White Sox LHP John Danks recorded the 1,000th strikeout
of his career by fanning Astros RF George Springer to open the
bottom of the first inning. ... The Astros' 50-game start of 31-19
is tied for the best in franchise history, matching that of the 1998
club that finished with a franchise-record 102 victories.
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