CHICAGO (AP) — Dylan Cease threw six innings in his third straight scoreless start, Leury Garcia and AJ Pollock homered, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Sunday to salvage a four-game split.
Eloy Jiménez went deep in his second second straight game, helping the White Sox end a series that was shaping up as a bad one for them on a stronger note.
The reigning AL Central champions won the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader after blowing a 3-0 lead. They jumped on Shane Bieber (4-6) in this one and finished a stretch of 19 straight games against division opponents at 10-9.
Chicago scored five in the second on Garcia’s two-run homer and Pollock’s three-run drive. Jiménez made it 6-0 when he connected leading off the sixth.
That was plenty for Cease (10-4), who won his third straight start.
The right-hander gave up seven hits and struck out four. He walked one and threw two wild pitches, after beating Cleveland and Minnesota prior to the All-Star break. Cease is 6-1 with a miniscule 0.57 ERA in his past eight starts.
Cleveland lost its second in a row after winning five straight.
Bieber got tagged for six runs and eight hits in six innings. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner tossed a three-hitter in a 4-1 victory over the White Sox in his previous start on July 12.
Franmil Reyes hit a two-run homer in the eighth, and Steven Kwan added a solo drive in the ninth against Liam Hendriks.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: 2B Josh Harrison was scratched from the lineup because he felt a pulling feeling in his right leg during his final at-bat on Saturday. Garcia started in his place. ... Jiménez said the discomfort in his right hamstring is “gonna be there for awhile." Jiménez missed 65 games after he tore his right hamstring April 23 at Minnesota. He missed the four-game series at the Twins prior to the All-Star break because of tightness. ... Manager Tony La Russa said the White Sox are being “very careful” with LHP Aaron Bummer (strained left lat), who has been playing catch but not throwing off the mound. Bummer has not pitched since June 7.
UP NEXT
Guardians: RHP Zach Plesac (2-7, 4.02 ERA) gets the ball as Cleveland opens a four-game series at Boston. Though he's 0-3 in his past seven starts, Plesac's ERA is 3.03 in that span. RHP Nick Pivetta (8-7, 4.50) starts for the Red Sox.
White Sox: RHP Michael Kopech (3-6, 3.36) looks to win his second straight start when the White Sox open a two-game series at Colorado on Tuesday. Kopech went five innings at Minnesota on July 15. The Rockies had not announced a starter.
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