Kikuchi hammered, Mariners fall to White Sox
Published 1:30 am Friday, September 13, 2019
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez hit solo home runs, Yoan Moncada drove in four runs and the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 9-7 on Friday night.
The top half of Chicago’s lineup dominated early in the game as the White Sox snapped a two-game losing streak. The Nos. 1 through 5 batters each reached base safely twice in the first four innings with Moncada getting three hits in that span.
Moncada’s run-scoring triple and Adam Engel’s solo home run put the White Sox up 5-3 and chased starter Yusei Kikuchi (6-10) with two outs in the third. Moncada then cleared the bases with a double for an 8-3 lead after reliever Wade LeBlanc loaded them on two hits and a walk to start the fourth inning.
Tim Anderson continued his run at the batting title as well. The shortstop was 2-for-5 in the game with a double and an RBI single, and improved his average to .334.
The Mariners have lost eight of their last 10.
Kikuchi gave up a solo home run to Abreu in the first. His teammates, however, took advantage of two walks and a wild pitch with one out from Dylan Covey to build a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. But Kikuchi reached 60 pitches on Engel’s third-inning home run and was done for the night.
Josh Osich (3-0) pitched 2.1 innings for the win. He struck out three and allowed three hits.
Shed Long’s two-run single in the fourth and Daniel Vogelbach’s two-run pinch-hit double in the eighth made it 8-7. But Jimenez padded the lead with his 27th homer in the ninth and Alex Colome pitched the final 1.1 innings for his sixth save.
The White Sox stopped rookie Kyle Lewis’ run at the record books, holding him without a home run. Lewis was the second player in major league history to hit homers in each of his first three games. He did have a hit and an RBI, extending that streak into the fourth game of his career.
