Brooks Baldwin slugged a three-run homer as the streaking Chicago White Sox scored six times in the first three innings and thumped the host Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 on Monday night.
Miguel Vargas added a two-run blast, his 12th, and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits and two RBIs as the White Sox won their season-high fourth straight game and for the sixth time in the past nine.
Chase Meidroth went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a run for Chicago, which had six of its 11 hits go for extra bases.
Staked to an 8-2 lead, starter Sean Burke couldn’t last more than four-plus innings and failed to get his first road win. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five.
Tyler Gilbert (4-1) recorded two outs in the fifth in relief of Burke.
In his worst start, Rays starter Shane Baz (8-6) surrendered a season-high eight runs on eight hits in four-plus innings. He fanned four and walked two. The right-hander saw seven runs cross against the Kansas City Royals on May 1 in an 8-2 loss.
Yandy Diaz clubbed his 16th home run and Taylor Walls drove in two runs with a double. However, the Rays produced only five hits in their second straight setback.
After singles by Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery in the second inning, the red-hot White Sox watched Baldwin barrel up a Baz four-seam fastball and belt it to right center for his fifth homer of the season.
Baz’s troubles continued in the third as the visitors scored three more after Meidroth’s single and a pair of walks. Robert lined a two-run single to left, then Montgomery beat out a double-play ball for an RBI that scored Vargas for a 6-0 lead.
The home side finally got to Burke when Meidroth’s throwing error to open the fourth came back to bite Chicago.
With two outs, Walls ripped a double that barely eluded right fielder Mike Tauchman for two unearned runs. Vargas answered in the fifth with a two-run shot to left for an 8-2 edge.
Diaz completed the scoring with a solo homer to left in the seventh.
–Field Level Media
