Jeremy Hellickson won his fourth consecutive start, Jose Molina had a two-run homer during a five-run second inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 8-3 on Friday night.
Hellickson (8-3) gave up one run, six hits and struck out nine in seven innings, helping the Rays win for the sixth time in seven games. The right-hander was coming off a strong June when he went 5-1.
Molina hit his two-run drive and the following batter, Kelly Johnson, connected for a solo shot three pitches later off Dylan Axelrod (3-5) to start the second-inning surge that saw the Rays go up 5-0.
Later in the inning, Evan Longoria had an RBI single before Wil Myers ended Axelrod's night with a run-scoring double.
It was Molina's second homer this season and first since April 18.
Axelrod, who has given up 10 homers in 22 1-3 innings over his past five starts, allowed five runs and nine hits in 1 2-3 innings.
Myers' sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single by Luke Scott made it 7-0 in the fourth.
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Josh Phegley got his first major league hit, an RBI single in the fifth for the White Sox, who have lost seven of nine. Phegley, who started at catcher, and center fielder Blake Tekotte, recalled from Triple-A Charlotte before the game, were both in the starting lineup.
Gordon Beckham had an RBI single and Phegley added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Longoria started at third base for the first time since leaving a game on June 28 after irritating plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He returned Tuesday for the first of three consecutive days as the designated hitter.
Tampa Bay's James Loney singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games. He drove in a run by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
Axelrod reached for Desmond Jennings' low first-inning liner, which knocked his glove to the ground. The pitcher picked up the ball and threw out the speedy Rays' leadoff man at first.
