WHITE SOX: The White Sox are 4-0 in Sale’s last four starts verus National League Central opponents, are 5-0 in his last five starts versus a team with a winning record, and are 8-1 in his last nine interleague starts.
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Sale, who also singled in two at-bats, allowed two runs and six hits with three walks in six innings. Hector Rondon pitched a flawless eighth, and Aroldis Chapman worked a 1-2-3 ninth – striking out Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia – in his Cubs debut after being traded by the Yankees on Monday.
The sellout crowd of 41,116 buzzed when the hard-throwing lefty entered the game. Afterward, Chapman’s teammates were talking as much about him as the late homers.
“Some mistakes are bigger than others, but you’ve got to understand we’re all not ideal”, Frazier said. “That’s impressive, jaw-dropping to see”.
For the first two-thirds of the game, this looked like an unlikely pitchers’ duel made even more improbable by the fact that the White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo was responsible for the first run of the game.
When the Cubs announced Chapman’s acquisition from the New York Yankees on Monday, the team released a statement from Chairman Tom Ricketts saying they were aware of his 29-game suspension to begin the season under Major League Baseball’s new domestic violence policy.
Manager Joe Maddon said it was easier for Chapman to debut when the game wasn’t on the line, especially after the lefty struggled answering reporters’ questions on Tuesday related to an altercation a year ago with his girlfriend and ensuing 29-game suspension.
Through his interpreter, his catcher Miguel Montero, he said he wanted to move on and put all that behind him. “It was fun to hear the crowd cheering”. Ranaudo didn’t allow a hit until Kris Bryant’s solo homer with one out in the sixth to tie the score 1-1.
“I have a group of unbelievable guys in there, my teammates”, Sale said. Miami’s loss spoiled the return of two-time All-Star second baseman Dee Gordon, who missed the previous 80 games after a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
TWINS 6, ORIOLES 2: Rookie Max Kepler continued his midseason surge with a game-tying home run among two hits and two RBI as Minnesota rallied to win at home.
Dan Straily (6-6) gave up three hits in 7 2-3 innings, and Tony Cingrani pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save.
1994 – On the night the baseball players set an August 12 strike date, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a ideal game for a 4-0 victory over California.
Baez went deep on a full-count pitch against Ranaudo (1-1) to chase the right-hander.
“Everything went fairly normal as far as him going out there and pitching and it was about baseball”, Ventura said.
“I was nibbling a bit in that first inning, trying to be too ideal”, Ranaudo said.
“I think everyone is making a little bit bigger deal of this than it really is”, Sale said.
White Sox: 2B Brett Lawrie (strained left hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 22. INF Carlos Sanchez was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. Coming off a flawless game in his last start against Tampa Bay, Buehrle retired the first 17 Twins batters to surpass the record of 41 straight set by and San Francisco’s Jim Barr in 1972 and tied by teammate Bobby Jenks, a reliever, in 2007.
Cubs: With OF Jorge Soler (hamstring) close to returning, the team will have a hard roster decision.
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Sale, who is 14-3 with a 3.18 ERA, has publicly expressed that he has no regrets with his actions.
