White Sox Drop 7th Straight
CHICAGO (AP) -- Gerrit Cole became the majors' first 11-game winner and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the struggling Chicago White Sox, 3-2, on Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a season-high eight games.
Cole (11-2) allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings, and has won each of his last six starts while giving up two runs or less in each. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.
Jung Ho Kang went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and Josh Harrison and Gregory Polanco each drove in a run for Pittsburgh. The Pirates, who also won 3-2 Wednesday, have won seven times in their last 11 games while scoring three runs or less.
Geovany Soto hit a solo home run for Chicago, which has dropped a season-high seven games.
Jake Petricka (1-2) took the loss in relief of starter Jeff Samardzija, who allowed two runs and 10 hits in seven innings and remained winless in his last five starts.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on an infield single by Kang that scored Starling Marte from third base. But the White Sox tied it in the bottom half of the inning. Jose Abreu led off with a little flare down the right-field line for a double, advanced to third on a fly ball to deep center by Adam LaRoche and scored on a sacrifice fly by Melky Cabrera.
Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning. With one out, Jordy Mercer hit a hard grounder up the middle. Samardzija knocked it down at his feet, but couldn't find it right away and that was long enough for Mercer to leg out the infield hit.
Mercer then went to third on a single to right by Corey Hart and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Harrison to make it 2-1.
That's where it stayed until the bottom of the seventh when Soto tied the game with a long homer to left-center on a 3-2 pitch. With two outs and none on, Soto connected on a 98-mph fastball from Cole. It was Soto's fourth homer of the season and came on Cole's 103rd pitch.
Pittsburgh, though, answered back in the eighth inning. Kang singled with one out off Petricka and advanced to third on a single by Pedro Alvarez. With Polanco at the plate, Chicago opted to play the infield back for the double. Polanco, though, hit a slow chopper to second base and Gordon Beckham's only play was to throw to first base for the out as Kang scored to make it 3-2.
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