Mariners Beat White Sox, 4-2
SEATTLE (AP) — Even though they no longer play in the same division, Chicago White Sox starter John Danks is still being haunted by Austin Jackson.
The former Detroit Tigers outfielder went 3 for 4 with a career-high four RBIs against Danks as the Seattle Mariners beat the White Sox 4-2 on Sunday.
Jackson, acquired by Seattle in a trade before the deadline, has been a constant thorn in Danks' side. Jackson entered the game as a career .400 hitter against Danks and continued to hammer the White Sox starter.
"I can't escape him," Danks said. "I've thrown everything I know how to. I thought about taking my glove off and firing one in there right-handed just to give him another look."
Logan Morrison began a two-out rally for the Mariners in the second inning off Danks (9-8) with a hard line drive single off the wall in right field. Infield singles by Chris Taylor and Jesus Sucre loaded the bases for Jackson.
Jackson doubled down the left field line to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.
"I thought Johnny pitched well enough to win a game," manager Robin Ventura said. "It's just that we didn't get anything going (offensively)."
Seattle starter Erasmo Ramirez was pulled mid-batter in the fifth inning as Dominic Leone entered to face Gordon Beckham with a 2-1 count. Leone got Beckham to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Leone (5-2) picked up the victory and Fernando Rodney earned his 33rd save.
Taylor drew a leadoff walk in the seventh inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sucre. Jackson singled to left as Taylor beat the throw home from Alejandro De Aza to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.
Jackson raised his career average to .429 (21 for 49) against Danks.
"He's hit some good pitches off of me and definitely made me answer to some mistakes I made," Danks said.
Tyler Flowers homered off Tom Wilhelmsen to lead off the seventh for Chicago.
Fernando Rodney allowed the first two runners to reach in the ninth. After two strikeouts, Conor Gillaspie singled to center to drive in Alexei Ramirez. Rodney then hit Flowers to load the bases before striking out Jordan Danks to seal the victory.
BECKHAM WEB GEM
Beckham made a diving stop of a grounder from Dustin Ackley to end the second inning. The second baseman laid out to his left and likely saved a run as Jackson was set to score from second if the ball had made its way into right field.
LINDSTROM READY
White Sox closer Matt Lindstrom is set to return after nearly three full months on the disabled list. Lindstrom will be recalled from Triple-A Charlotte for Tuesday's game against San Francisco. Lindstrom has been on the 15-day DL since May 20 with a dislocated tendon in his right ankle. Chicago optioned reliever Eric Surkamp to Triple-A after the game to clear space for Lindstrom.
RAMIREZ OPTIONED
The Mariners optioned Ramirez back to Triple-A Tacoma following his start. The team will make a corresponding move on Monday to add a position player to the roster.
UP NEXT
Chicago: Left-hander Chris Sale (10-2, 2.14 ERA) is set to open the White Sox two-game series with San Francisco on Tuesday. Sale took the loss for only the second time this season in his last outing against Texas on August 6.
Seattle: Mariners ace Felix Hernandez (12-3, 1.97 ERA) opens a key series in the race for the second wild card against Toronto. Hernandez is riding a major league-record 15 straight starts of at least seven innings pitched with two runs or less allowed.
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