Sale gets hearty welcome but loses

5-time All-Star was suspended 5 days for destroying jerseys last weekend

CHICAGO — Chris Sale returned from his jerseytrashing suspension and pitched six effective innings, but John Lackey outdueled him and Aroldis Chapman got the final four outs to save the Cubs’ 3-1 victory over the White Sox in Chicago’s rivalry series Thursday night.

Sale (14-4) was greeted with smiles and hugs from teammates after a five-day ban for tearing up 1976-style uniforms he didn’t want to wear before his previous scheduled start. He had command problems but worked out of trouble while allowing two runs on six hits.

Lackey (8-7) allowed one run in six innings for his first win since June 8. Chapman, in his second appearance since being acquired from the New York Yankees, struck out two and consistently hit 102 mph in his first save for his new team.

Kris Bryant, who homered against Sale in the All-Star Game, hit an RBI double off the center-field wall in the first inning.

Ben Zobrist added an RBI single in the third and doubled and scored in the eighth as the Cubs earned a split of the four-game series and spoiled Sale’s night.

The left- hander was scratched from his start Saturday, sent home and then suspended five days for cutting up a number of collared throwback jerseys the team was supposed to wear for the game. Sale said they were uncomfortable and became enraged when the team wouldn’t switch them.

The incident provided fodder for heckling Cubs fans at Wrigley Field. The Cubs tweeted their lineup before the game with the line “Throwback Thursday, anyone?”

Sale, pitching for the first time since July 18, didn’t seem fazed in his 111-pitch outing. He also improved to 2-for-16 at the plate when his slow grounder up the middle hit second base and bounded away for a single.

The White Sox scored in the first when Melky Cabrera doubled and Tim Anderson ran through third base coach Joe McEwing’s stop sign, stopped, then continued home and beat an off-line throw.

Tyler Saladino doubled off f ormer closer Hector Rondon in the eighth. But Chapman came in with two outs and struck out Cabrera on a 102-mph fastball.

Chapman struck out Todd Frazier and got two groundouts in the ninth.