Jon Gray allowed one run on four hits in 7 2/3 innings to lift the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the reeling Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
Texas’ Josh Smith had an RBI double to bring in a big insurance run in the eighth inning. He also scored on a double steal with Adolis Garcia in the first.
Garcia also had an RBI single and Smith and Marcus Semien each had two of the six hits for the Rangers, who have won three games in a row and 10 of their past 14.
Gray (5-4) retired the final 15 batters he faced to improve to 2-0 in his past three outings. He needed just eight pitches to retire the side in order in the seventh inning and benefited from shortstop Jonathan Ornelas’ sterling defensive play in the eighth. Ornelas went deep in the hole before making a jump throw to nab Tommy Pham at first base.
Josh Sborz got Luis Robert Jr. to fly out to shallow center field to end the eighth inning. Sborz yielded Andrew Benintendi’s leadoff homer in the ninth before Kirby Yates retired the only two batters he faced to secure his 18th save of the season.
Benintendi’s homer, which sailed just inside the right field foul pole, was his eighth of the season.
Andrew Vaughn had an RBI single in the third inning for the White Sox, who mustered just five hits and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position en route to their ninth straight loss.
Texas grabbed an early advantage in the first inning, as Garcia’s two-out single to right field off Garrett Crochet (6-7) plated Robbie Grossman for the game’s first run. Smith came home on the double steal with Garcia to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
Chicago halved its deficit in the third inning after Korey Lee doubled and came around to score on Vaughn’s two-out single to left field off Gray.
The Rangers got their two-run edge back in the eighth inning after Semien singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Smith’s double to right field.
Crochet took the loss after permitting two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven in four innings.
–Field Level Media
