Trevor Richards delivered 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in a combined four-hitter and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove in two runs as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays blanked the skidding Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Wednesday.
Toronto earned a three-game sweep while sending Chicago to a season-worst eighth straight defeat. The White Sox have lost 12 of 13.
Chicago, which previously lost four straight to the Baltimore Orioles, endured its first winless homestand of at least seven games in club history.
Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah pitched just 1 2/3 innings. The right-hander exited upon experiencing discomfort in his right elbow after throwing his 24th pitch, a 1-0 sinker to White Sox center fielder Dominic Fletcher.
Pressed into sudden action, the Toronto bullpen delivered. Richards (1-0) set the tone, allowing just one hit and one walk in his 3 1/3 innings.
Tim Mayza, Zach Pop, Yimi Garcia and Jordan Romano followed with one inning apiece. Korey Lee smacked a solo home run with two outs in the ninth as Chicago avoided the shutout, but Romano recovered to pick up his eighth save.
White Sox starter Chris Flexen fell to 2-5 after allowing two runs and four hits in five innings. He walked five and struck out six.
Bo Bichette opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third. Kiner-Falefa added to the advantage with a run-scoring single one inning later.
Toronto made it 3-0 in the sixth when Kiner-Falefa lined into a forceout that scored George Springer.
Bichette and Alejandro Kirk contributed two hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who outscored the White Sox 15-4 in the series.
Chicago squandered Andrew Vaughn’s leadoff double in the second. Manoah induced Lee on a popout to shortstop and struck out Paul DeJong. He fell behind Fletcher before getting injured, but Richards finished the at-bat, retiring Fletcher on a lineout to right field.
DeJong doubled in the seventh but was stranded at third.
Toronto captured the season series from Chicago 5-1 to continue a recent run of dominance. The Blue Jays have won 12 of the past 13 meetings.
–Field Level Media
