The Chicago White Sox were shut down in their quest to sweep the Tampa Bay Rays, as a Travis d’Arnaud grand slam lifted the home club to a 4-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The grand slam was the lone blemish for starter Dylan Cease, who gave up three hits and struck out four batters in five innings of work.
The White Sox attempted a comeback in the seventh inning, as Yolmer Sánchez hit an RBI triple and Adam Engel picked up an RBI infield single, but it wasn’t enough as the Rays snapped their five-game losing streak and prevented the sweep at Tropicana Field.
Sánchez and Engel each registered two hits in the game, but the rest of the Sox lineup went a combined 1-for-24 in the losing effort.
Both sides were held scoreless in the first inning, but after Cease walked two batters and gave up a single to Avisail García to lead off the second, d’Arnaud stepped to the plate and launched a deep grand slam home run to left field, giving the Rays a 4-0 lead.
That score would remain on the board all the way to the seventh inning when Ryan Goins drew a one-out walk. Sánchez then ripped a ripple to right field to score Goins, and Engel scored his teammate with an RBI infield single to make it a 4-2 game.
Ryan Cordell struck out looking, and García grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the threat, and from there the Rays rolled to victory.
Chicago Baseball
After a 2-8 road trip, the White Sox will return to the South Side on Monday night as they welcome the Miami Marlins to Guaranteed Rate Field.
