Shane Smith took a perfect game into the sixth inning before combining with three relievers on a one-hitter, and the visiting Chicago White Sox ended their season with an 8-0 win against the Washington Nationals.
Brooks Baldwin homered for the second straight game, doubled and drove in three runs for Chicago. Dominic Fletcher also homered and doubled, and Miguel Vargas added a home run.
The 25-year-old Smith (7-8) retired the first 16 Nationals before Brady House lined a single to right with one out in the sixth. He allowed one hit over six innings and struck out eight batters without a walk. Chicago pitchers did not walk a batter.
Washington’s Brad Lord (5-10) gave up five runs on five hits over four innings.
Chicago (60-102) lost 100 games for the third consecutive season but improved noticeably on its record-setting 2024 campaign, when it went 41-121.
Washington (66-96) suffered its sixth consecutive losing season since winning the 2019 World Series. The Nationals finished 71-91 in each of the previous two seasons.
James Wood of the Nationals struck out three times, bringing his MLB-leading total to 221. Mark Reynolds holds the MLB single-season record for strikeouts with 223 in 2009.
Colson Montgomery, who had homered in the previous two games, walked with two outs in the first and Vargas followed with a homer to left center to give Chicago the early 2-0 lead.
With two outs in the fourth, Baldwin homered to make it 3-0. Lenyn Sosa followed with a single and Fletcher homered to right, increasing the lead to 5-0.
The White Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth on singles by Kyle Teel and Montgomery, and a walk by Vargas. Edgar Quero struck out, but Baldwin doubled off the wall in right center, scoring two runs to make it 7-0.
In the eighth, Sosa doubled and later scored Chicago’s eighth run on a ground out by former long-time National Michael A. Taylor.
–Field Level Media
