Luis Robert Jr, Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn homered, and the Chicago White Sox stopped a 14-game losing streak by downing the Boston Red Sox 7-2 on Friday night.
Garrett Crochet struck out 10 in six innings as Chicago posted their first win since a 5-0 victory at Toronto on May 21. The 14-game slide set a franchise record for a single season, and it was the longest losing streak in the majors since the Los Angeles Angels also dropped 14 straight in 2022.
“Just to stop the streak, I mean it’s time to move on,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “Let’s continue to play baseball. I’m really proud of these guys.”
Photo: AP
Robert hit a 131m solo drive to center off Cooper Criswell with two out in the first. Sheets and Vaughn began the sixth with consecutive homers against Greg Weissert, lifting the White Sox to a 6-2 lead.
Boston had won four of six. Connor Wong had two of the team’s six hits.
The Red Sox finished the game without right fielder Tyler O’Neill, who departed in the third because of right knee discomfort. O’Neill was just activated from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday after being sidelined by right knee inflammation.
Photo: AFP
Criswell (3-3) permitted four runs, three earned, and five hits in 4-1/3 innings. He has a 5.40 earned run average (ERA) over his last seven starts.
The White Sox went ahead to stay with three runs in the fourth, highlighted by Oscar Colas’ tie-breaking two-run single through a drawn-in infield.
Crochet (6-5) allowed three hits and one earned run. The left-hander improved to 5-1 with a 1.10 ERA in his last seven starts.
“It was huge. The guys in there, we showed no quit,” Crochet said. “Tonight I think that you kind of saw that.”
Jonathan Cannon pitched three innings for his first career save. Duke Ellis dropped Ceddanne Rafaela’s liner to left for an error, but Jarren Duran bounced to shortstop for the final out.
“I just went out there and I was going to go until they told me to stop,” Cannon said.
The Red Sox scored both of their runs during a strange sequence in the second inning.
Bobby Dalbec walked and scored from first when Crochet committed a throwing error on Duran’s comebacker. Duran missed first on the play and the White Sox decided to appeal. Duran started running when Crochet threw over, and he swiped home for a 2-1 lead.
Vaughn went to the bag after the throw got away from him, but first base umpire Alan Porter said he was safe.
Grifol said he did not see the call, so he felt as if he was not able to challenge the decision with plate umpire Sean Barber.
“So once everything was over, I said: ‘Sean, can we appeal?’ And he said: ‘You already did,’” Grifol said. “I didn’t see it. He called him safe. So at that point, I didn’t challenge anything because I thought time had elapsed.”
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said