Gallen, Puello lift Marlins over White Sox

[July 25, 2019]  Cesar Puello snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run home run in the eighth inning, and rookie Zac Gallen pitched seven shutout innings to earn his first career victory as the visiting Miami Marlins defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Wednesday night.

With one out in the eighth, Puello drilled Reynaldo Lopez's first pitch into the left field seats to provide all the offense Miami needed to secure an interleague series win. Until that point, Lopez had matched Gallen, a right-hander making his sixth major league start, nearly pitch for pitch.

Gallen limited Chicago to two hits while walking one and striking out nine. He threw 68 of his 95 pitches for strikes.

Lopez delivered his third quality start in as many outings since the All-Star break, scattering two runs and four hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over eight innings.

Miami's Sergio Romo worked around ninth-inning singles from Yoan Moncada and James McCann en route to his 17th save.

Gallen (1-2) and Lopez (5-9) combined to retire the first 10 batters of the game. Gallen issued a one-out walk to Chicago's Ryan Goins in the second inning for the first baserunner of the night.

Miami catcher Jorge Alfaro delivered the game's first hit, singling to left with one out in the third.

Lopez threw 26 of his first 28 pitches for strikes, a 93 percent rate that marked the highest through three innings by any starter in the past five seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Marlins relief pitcher Zac Gallen (52) pitches during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox loaded the bases with two outs in the third but were unable to score, as Moncada, who batted cleanup in each game of the series, flied out to center on a 3-0 count to end the inning.

Another scoring opportunity slipped away from the White Sox in the seventh. Chicago wasted a leadoff double from Goins when Gallen recorded two strikeouts and a groundout to escape the inning unscathed.

The White Sox went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, while the Marlins were 0-for-2.

--Field Level Media

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