AROUND THE HORN
Blue Jays: Alek Manoah pitched into the eighth inning, Teoscar Hernández homered and the Blue Jays extended their winning streak to eight games by beating the White Sox 8-3 on Thursday in Toronto. Santiago Espinal had three hits and three RBIS as the surging Blue Jays won for the 12th time in 15 games. The White Sox were swept in the three-game series and have lost six of eight. Manoah (6-1) allowed three runs and six hits, walked one and struck out five in 7
innings. He’s 9-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 13 career home starts. Leury Garcia and Luis Robert each singled to begin the first against Manoah, and a two-out walk to Gavin Sheets loaded the bases. Manoah escaped unscathed by catching Yasmani Grandal looking at a slider for strike three. That was the first in a streak of 16 consecutive outs for Manoah, who didn’t allow another baserunner until José Abreu singled to begin the seventh. Sheets followed by grounding into a double play. Johnny Cueto (0-2) allowed three earned runs and seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out five. Raimel Tapia scored twice and Hernández connected for a two-run homer, his third on the season, as the Blue Jays built a 4-0 lead after six innings. Hernández’s homer was his first since May 14. Manoah left after Robert hit a two-out, two-run double in the eighth. Adam Cimber came on to face Yoán Moncada, who cut it to 4-3 with an RBI single. Abreu flied out to end the threat. Espinal had a two-run single and Bo Bichette added an RBI hit as the Blue Jays pulled away with a fourrun eighth against a trio of
White Sox relievers . ... The Blue Jays placed LHP Hyun Jin Ryu was placed on the 15-day IL because of a sore left forearm. On Wednesday, Ryu pitched four innings in a 7-3 win over the White Sox before exiting the game. Ryu is 2-0 with a 5.33 ERA in six starts. He missed 24 games in April and May because of soreness in his forearm but had gone 2-0 with a
1.72 ERA in his last three starts since returning May 14. Ryu left his previous start, May 26 against the Angels, after five innings because of a sore elbow.
Rays: Corey Kluber excelled again at the Rangers’ Globe Life Field, pitching six solid innings as the Rays beat the Rangers 3-1 on Thursday. In his previous appearance at the ballpark, Kluber threw a no-hitter May 19, 2021, while with the Yankees. In his only other game at Globe Life Field, which opened in July 2020 during the pandemic-delayed season, he left after one inning and 18 pitches in his only start as a member of the Rangers. He tore a muscle in his pitching shoulder and was lost for the rest of that year. Kluber allowed one run and four hits, striking out four and walking none this time around. The 36-year-old two-time AL Cy Young Award winner matched his longest outing of the season. Kluber said he didn’t think about that no-hitter during the afternoon. Vidal Brujan hit an RBI double in the second and Yandy Diaz singled home a run in the third for the Rays. The lone run off Kluber (2-2) was a two-out HR by Marcus Semien that was pulled down the leftfield line in the sixth. Ryan Thompson, the fifth Rays reliever, pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.