Hector Noesi throws a quality start, but doesn't get much help
Tonight's game wasn't a baserunning clinic on either side. But the Rays made it easier on themselves by trotting home for two of their three runs, which held up as the difference.
Then again, it's kind of surprising that the White Sox had outs to make on the basepaths, considering Rays pitching held them to three hits all evening.
But there was Jose Abreu, running into a tag on a 4-3 double play in the first inning, rather than stopping and forcing a fielder's choice or an out-of-order double play, either of which would've at least allowed Adam Eaton to cross the plate.
And there was Avisail Garcia in the fourth, who couldn't get back to first in time on Dayan Viciedo's lineout to deep center because he missed touching second on the way back.
The Rays weren't much better -- they hit into four double plays, and two of them were lineouts that caught the runner off the bag at first. But they were able to ding Hector Noesi for three runs, including a two-run homer by Nick Franklin in the second, and an RBI single by Ben Zobrist in the fifth.
Noesi met the minimum requirements for a quality start, even though he didn't have quality stuff. He allowed three runs on six hits and three walks, but he struck out only one batter. He missed Tyler Flowers' mitt quite often, but he only paid for it on a couple of occasions.
Chris Archer wasn't all that sharp, either, but it never cost him. He came closes in the seventh, when he walked Conor Gillaspie and Garcia to start the inning. Dayan Viciedo flied out to left, deep enough for Gillaspie to tag. But Joe Maddon yanked Archer for Joel Peralta, and Peralta stranded the runners with an Andy Wilkins popout and a Flowers strikeout.
So Archer emerged from the game with the victory and 6⅓ shutout innings. The Rays' bid for a team shutout was spoiled in the ninth, when Jake McGee walked Jose Abreu to start the inning. Abreu took second on defensive indifference, then came home on Marcus Semien's pinch-hit RBI single.
McGee then walked Garcia to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but the weaker part of the lineup proved vulnerable. Not so much Viciedo, who lined out to third. But Paul Konerko pinch-hit for Wilkins and hit a routine flyout to center, and Flowers struck out to end the game.
Bullet points:
*Semien is now 3-for-3 with a walk as a pinch hitter.
*Wilkins just missed out on his first homer, and Matt Joyce added insult to injury by making a leaping catch at the wall to take away extra bases.
*Carlos Sanchez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, but he did make a sweet turn on a 5-4-3 double play.
*The loss keeps the Sox in sole possession of the eighth-worst record. A win would've meant a three-way tie for eighth.
Record: 70-84 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights
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