Luis Robert Jr., Gavin Sheets, and Andrew Vaughn homered as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-2 on Friday night, snapping their 14-game losing run.
Garrett Crochet struck out 10 in six innings, giving Chicago its first win since a 5-0 victory over Toronto on May 21. The 14-game losing streak set a franchise record for a single season and was the longest in the majors since the Angels lost 14 in a row in 2022.
“Just to stop the streak, I mean it’s time to move on,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol remarked. “Let’s continue playing baseball. “I’m very proud of these guys.”
With two outs in the first, Robert launched a 430-foot solo drive to center field off Cooper Criswell. Sheets and Vaughn started the sixth inning with consecutive home runs against Greg Weissert, giving the White Sox a 6-2 lead.
Three tiny bottles were hurled onto the field, causing a fourth-inning delay.
A White Sox representative said the bottles were plastic and “travel-sized.” The team stated that it was investigating, but there were no injuries.
The delay occurred before Paul DeJong batted with runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning.
DeJong stated on the White Sox TV broadcast that they were “flying full bottles of liquor.” He stated that a child in the front row had been hit in the head and had to leave.
Following the triumph, Vaughn stated that he had heard a child had been hit.
“I don’t know when that happened,” Vaughn replied. “I was on deck, [Gavin Sheets] was up and heard a loud thud and looked down and there was a little shot glass or something right in front of me.”
Grifol appreciated ballpark security’s response.
“I really don’t know where they came from,” Grifol admitted. “One landed near to me and some of the fans. The most important thing is that we contacted security, and they handled the situation. We didn’t have any more problems.”
Crochet (6-5) yielded three hits and one earned run. In his last seven outings, the left-hander has improved to 5-1 with a 1.10 ERA.
“It was enormous. “The guys in there, we didn’t give up,” Crochet said. “Tonight I think that you kind of saw that.”
Jonathan Cannon recorded his first career save, pitching three innings.
“I just went out there and I was going to go until they told me to stop,” Cannon stated.
The Red Sox scored both of their runs in an unusual sequence in the second inning.
Bobby Dalbec walked and scored from first after Crochet made a throwing error on Jarren Duran’s comebacker. Duran missed first on the play, prompting the White Sox to file an appeal. Duran began racing when Crochet threw over, and he swiped home for a 2-1 advantage.
Vaughn went to the bag when the throw got away from him, but first-base umpire Alan Porter ruled the runner safe.
Grifol said he didn’t see the call and didn’t believe he could contest the decision with plate umpire Sean Barber.
“So once everything was over, I said, ‘Sean, can we appeal?’ And he answered, ‘You already did,'” Grifol explained. “I did not see it. He called him safe. So, at that moment, I didn’t challenge anything because I assumed time had passed.”
The Red Sox ended the game without right fielder Tyler O’Neill, who left in the third due to right knee soreness. O’Neill was activated from the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday after being sidelined with right knee tendinitis.
“Hopefully we avoid the IL, but playing short doesn’t make sense,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora explained.
