Ezequiel Duran and Jonah Heim each had a home run among their two hits and Martin Perez pitched seven strong innings to boost the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 win against the host Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
Heim drove in three runs and Duran added two RBIs for Texas, which out-hit Chicago 7-4 on its way to victory in the rubber game of the three-game series.
Perez (7-3) picked up his first victory since May 24. The left-hander scattered three runs (two earned) and four hits while striking out two and walking two.
Josh Sborz and Will Smith combined to retire the last six White Sox, with Smith recording the final two outs.
Eloy Jimenez put Chicago ahead 1-0 with an RBI double to right field with two outs in the first inning. Jimenez's hit scored Luis Robert, who singled one batter earlier as he returned to the lineup following a day off Tuesday.
Texas tied the game in the third. Nathaniel Lowe's two-out RBI double began a stretch of six straight runs for the Rangers. Duran extended the advantage to 3-1 with a two-run blast in the fourth.
Heim's three-run shot in the fifth was his 10th homer of the season and made him the fifth Ranger in double figures in that category.
Andrew Vaughn's solo home run in the sixth and a run-scoring sacrifice fly from Seby Zavala one inning later brought the White Sox to within the final margin, but they couldn't get closer en route to their fifth loss in seven games.
Chicago starter Michael Kopech fell to 3-6 after allowing three runs and four hits in four innings with three walks and five strikeouts. Kopech threw just 46 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
A bright spot for the White Sox pitching staff: righty Touki Toussaint, who delivered four scoreless, hitless innings in his club debut. Claimed off waivers from Cleveland this week, Toussaint spaced two walks and four strikeouts.
White Sox shortstop and leadoff man Tim Anderson missed his fourth consecutive start with a shoulder injury. Chicago catcher Yasmani Grandal (right knee soreness) was scratched before the game.
--Field Level Media
Texas | Chi. White Sox | |
Martin Perez | Player | Michael Kopech |
Win | W/L | Loss |
7.0 | IP | 4.0 |
2 | Strikeouts | 5 |
4 | Hits | 4 |
2.57 | ERA | 6.75 |
Texas | Chi. White Sox | |
Ezequiel Duran | Player | Clint Frazier |
2 | Hits | 1 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 2 |
.500 | Avg | .333 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Texas | 7 | 2 | 14 | .212 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Chi. White Sox | 4 | 1 | 9 | .138 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |