Korey Lee thrilled family and friends with a two-out, two-run single to break a ninth-inning tie and the visiting Chicago White Sox salvaged the finale of a three-game series with a 6-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
After All-Star pitchers Garrett Crochet and Logan Webb had done their thing, the White Sox took advantage of two walks and an infield single by Andrew Vaughn to load the bases with one out in the ninth.
Erik Miller (3-4) struck out Gavin Sheets to preserve a 2-2 tie, but Lee, a former Cal standout, drilled his two-run single up the middle off Spencer Bivens, giving Chicago the lead.
Lenyn Sosa then drove in another two runs with a single of his own to complete the scoring.
Rookie Fraser Ellard (1-1) was credited with his first career major league win after pitching a 1-2-3 eighth before John Brebbia worked a scoreless ninth.
After losing the first two games of the series with San Francisco, the White Sox never trailed on Wednesday, scoring single runs in the first and fourth innings before the Giants put up a pair in the last of the fourth.
A game-opening triple by Nicky Lopez set up an Andrew Benintendi run-scoring groundout to get Chicago on the board first. Luis Robert Jr. doubled leading off the fourth and later scored on Vaughn’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Those were the only runs the White Sox got off Webb, who retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.
Looking to win a fifth consecutive start, Webb allowed the two runs on five hits in his eight innings. He struck out six without issuing a walk.
Crochet took a one-hit shutout into the Giants’ half of the fourth before consecutive doubles by Mark Canha and Heliot Ramos set the table for Jerar Encarnacion’s run-scoring groundout and Thairo Estrada’s game-tying, two-out RBI single.
Crochet was pulled from a 2-2 tie after four innings, having allowed both Giants runs and four hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Robert finished with a double, a single and two runs for the White Sox, who outhit the Giants 8-6. Sheets also had a pair of hits.
Ramos had two doubles for the Giants, who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end.
–Field Level Media
