White Sox edge past Orioles
CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox broke a tie with runs in the seventh and eighth innings and made them stand up in a 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
After scoring a run on four hits in the seventh to lead 3-2, Adam Eaton led off the eighth with his ninth home run to give closer David Robertson a two-run lead in the ninth. Robertson picked up his 27th save to reward Nate Jones (5-2) with a win for pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Eaton and Melky Cabrera each went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, while Tyler Saladino went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and rookie catcher Omar Narvaez (1-for-2) drove in the game-deciding run with a bloop single in the seventh.
Chris Tillman (14-4), who started for Baltimore (62-47), went seven innings and took the loss. Shortstop J.J. Hardy went 1-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the Orioles, who battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie it with runs in the fourth and sixth.
In the seventh, the White Sox retook the lead with a run on four straight singles, including one that was blooped down the left-field line and initially ruled a foul. After a lengthy review, the call was overturned and J.B. Shuck, who entered the game as a pinch-runner, was allowed to score from third.
It could've been a bigger rally, but Baltimore right-hander Mychal Givens struck out three straight to end the inning with the bases loaded. Givens took over Tillman, who allowed three runs on seven hits.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon started for the White Sox, allowing two runs (one earned), five hits and striking out seven with two walks in six innings.
The White Sox struck first, scoring on back-to-back doubles by Anderson and Cabrera to start the game, but the 1-0 lead was only possible because of what Rodon did in the top half of the first inning.
After allowing a bloop double and single to start his outing, Rodon struck out three straight to end the threat, buzzing through the heart of the Orioles' order.
The hard-throwing left-hander then fanned the first two hitters in the second for five straight strikeouts, two short of the White Sox's franchise record to start a game of seven straight by Joe Cowley in 1986.
Saladino led off the second with his sixth homer of the season to give Chicago a 2-0 lead, but the Orioles finally got to Rodon in the fourth. They cut the margin to 2-1 on two hits and a walk, with the key hit a two-out, ground-rule double by Hardy that would have tied the score had the ball not bounced off the warning track into the stands.
NOTES: White Sox rookie SS Tim Anderson was back in the starting lineup. Anderson, who was struck on the left hand by a pitch Thursday in Detroit, couldn't swing the bat Friday and missed the series opener. After getting treatment, he was able to swing Saturday and said he's close to being fully healed. ... Orioles LHP T.J. McFarland, who's on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee injury, will begin his rehab Tuesday at high-Class A Sarasota. ... Despite swinging a hot bat, Orioles DH Pedro Alvarez wasn't in the starting lineup. ... Alvarez, a left-handed batter, hit two home runs in Baltimore's series-opening win Friday, his third straight game with a homer and second two-homer game in the streak. ... Struggling 1B Chris Davis was moved down in the Orioles' batting order to sixth. He went 0-for-2 with two walks and is hitting .128 with one home run and four RBIs in his past 26 games dating to July 3.