Rays Back Archer With 4 Homers, Pound White Sox In 11-3 Win
CHICAGO (AP) — Chris Archer pitched seven strong innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays backed him with a season-high four homers while pounding Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox 11-3 on Tuesday night.
Archer (10-8) allowed two runs and six hits for his first win since June 23. And the Rays matched their highest home run total since Sept. 7.
Logan Forsythe, Mikie Mahtook, Asdrubal Cabrera and Richie Shaffer all went deep. Kevin Kiermaier and Rene Rivera each had three hits, and Tampa Bay improved to 5-0 against Chicago.
Forsythe hit a two-run drive in the first. Mahtook made it 3-1 when he connected leading off the fifth, and the Rays chased Sale (9-7) in a five-run sixth. They sent 10 batters to the plate in that inning and added two more runs in the seventh on back-to-back homers off Daniel Webb by Cabrera and Shaffer — the first major league hit for him.
Archer, who retired the first 19 batters in a loss to Detroit last week, finally got a win after going 0-4 in his previous six starts. The All-Star right-hander struck out seven and walked one.
Chicago's Tyler Saladino hit a solo homer off Archer in the third. Avisail Garcia went deep in the ninth, but the White Sox lost for the fifth time in six games after winning seven in a row.
Sale allowed seven runs in his second straight outing and fell to 1-3 in his past four starts. The four-time All-Star gave up six hits over 5 1-3 innings.
He left trailing 5-1 after Kiermaier blooped an RBI single to center. A second run scored on the play when catcher Tyler Flowers allowed Adam Eaton's throw to roll between his legs and no one backed up the plate.
Rivera added an RBI single against Webb. Grady Sizemore drove in a run with a force, and Evan Longoria added an RBI single to make it 8-1 before Forsythe popped out to end the rally.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: Manager Kevin Cash said "everything's good" with OF Desmond Jennings (left knee bursitis), on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham. He was scheduled to play five or six innings expected to play five or six innings Tuesday after going 0 for 4 on Monday. ... LHP Drew Smyly (torn left labrum) is still on track to make his next rehab start Thursday for Durham. Cash said Smyly will make at least one more rehab start after that.
White Sox: The White Sox are not sure if OF J.B. Shuck (strained left hamstring) will go on a rehab assignment before he returns. He went on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. "He has two weeks there where we can figure out what he's got and you go from there," manager Robin Ventura said.
UP NEXT
White Sox LHP Carlos Rodon (4-4, 4.84 ERA) and Rays RHP Erasmo Ramirez (8-4, 3.61) start as Chicago and Tampa Bay wrap up a three-game series. Rodon, a rookie, gave up a career-high eight runs over three-plus innings in his shortest start last week against the New York Yankees. Ramirez is coming off a no-decision against Boston.
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