Korey Lee was 3-for-3 with an RBI and four Chicago pitchers combined on a shutout as the White Sox beat the visiting Washington Nationals 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series.
The White Sox have won eight of their past 12 games and their second straight series. After Monday’s series opener was postponed by rain, the Nationals and White Sox split a doubleheader Tuesday.
The punchless Nationals have lost six of their last 10 games, and were shut out for the second straight game. Washington lost its second straight series.
Tommy Pham put the White Sox up 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning when he hooked a double into the left-field corner, driving home Braden Shewmake.
The ball took a sharply angled bounce off the bottom of the wall in the corner and Nationals left fielder Ildemaro Vargas struggled to corral it, allowing Shewmake to score from first base, which he had reached on a fielder’s choice.
The White Sox doubled their lead in the sixth when Andrew Benintendi ripped a two-out double to left and scored on Lee’s sharp single up the middle.
The punchless Nationals haven’t scored over 19 consecutive innings, going back to the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. The Nationals didn’t get a hit after Jacob Young’s third-inning single and were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. White Sox pitchers issued five walks.
Left-hander Garrett Crochet (4-4) worked five scoreless innings, scattering three hits. He struck out six against three walks over an 89-pitch outing before giving way to reliever Jared Shuster.
Shuster pitched two scoreless innings and Jordan Leasure pitched a 1-2-3 eighth before Michael Kopech closed things out with two strikeouts in the ninth for his fifth save.
Washington lefty Patrick Corbin (1-4) tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. He had no strikeouts but induced nine ground-ball outs in his 82-pitch effort.
The Nationals have scored two or fewer runs in all four of Corbin’s losses this season.
– Field Level Media
