Gonzalez weathers rain delay, stymies Rays
Unfazed by a one- hour, 16- minute rain delay, Miguel Gonzalez pitched 8„ scoreless innings of three- hit ball, and Todd Frazier belted his 40th home run Wednesday to lift the White Sox to a 1- 0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Sox won their fifth consecutive game and still have an outside shot at finishing .500, needing to complete a four- game sweep against the Rays ( 65- 93) on Thursday and a three- game seasonending sweep of the last- place Minnesota Twins this weekend.
Gonzalez, let go by the Baltimore Orioles during spring training, finished with a 3.73 ERA. He struck out five and walked none. He had a 2.72 ERA over his last 13 starts.
David Robertson got the last two outs with one pitch, a double- play grounder by Kevin Kiermaier to shortstop Tim Anderson for his 37th save. The Rays have lost six in a row.
Frazier extended his hitting streak to a season- high 12 games while becoming the seventh Sox player ( 12th time) to hit 40 homers. He connected in the seventh inning against Eddie Gamboa to get within two RBI of 100.
“It’s a great feat to have,’’ Frazier said. “I had a bunch of people text me, ‘ It’s coming. Today is the day.’ I’m glad to get it over with, and now it’s on to another goal of mine.’’
The game was delayed 21 minutes at the outset, then again for more than an hour during the third inning but moved along quickly, finishing in 2: 10. The Rays used four pitchers.
“I was in the cage, moving around, stretching, and I threw twice [ to stay warm],’’ Gonzalez said. “That kept me in the game. Mentally, that’s not an easy thing to do. But I was able to just make pitches and try to minimize damage.’’
Sale not certain for Sunday
Chris Sale would have enough rest, four days, to pitch on the last day of the season Sunday, but manager Robin Ventura said he hadn’t decided if the left- hander would get the ball one more time or call it a year.
The matter would be discussed with Sale, who has already logged a career- high 221„ innings and would take a 17- 9 record, a 3.21 ERA, 224 strikeouts and a majorleague- high six complete games into the Cy Young Award balloting if he has pitched his last game.
Sale is among the favorites for the award, along with Rick Porcello, Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander, to name three.
Eaton on the skipper
Adam Eaton on Ventura, the only manager he has played for with the Sox: “I’ve always enjoyed Robin. I’ve always backed Robin. He’s a tremendous manager, people person, communicator. I’d welcome him back. I’d love to have him back, but it’s up to the higher- ups again.’’
This and that
Carlos Rodon and James Shields are slated to start Friday and Saturday against the Twins, with Sunday’s starter to be announced.
The Sox are 20- 8 over their last 28 home games and have 10 shutouts this season.