Struggling Abreu comes through
Hits game-winning single in 11th through five-man infield
All day long, the White Sox kept squandering opportunities.
They failed to capitalize with the bases loaded twice, and even reliable David Robertson suffered his first blown save.
But, somehow, the Sox finished the deal thanks to Jose Abreu, who had two hits in his previous 35 atbats before delivering in the 11th inning.
He slipped a game-winning single through a five-man infield to help the Sox pull out a 4-3 victory Saturday over the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field.
Abreu, who had been 0-for-5, found himself at the bottom of a dog pile of teammates, finally celebrating as the hero. Coming through against five infielders made it even more special.
“When you see five infielders, that’s something that motivates you,” Abreu said, “especially at this moment with my offense. I’m struggling. I saw that and thought, ‘This is my moment.’ ”
The Sox nearly won in walk-off fashion in the ninth, when Todd Frazier — who had tied the game with a lead-off home run in the eighth — drove a deep fly ball to right field. But Nomar Mazara made a leaping snag with his glove extended over the yellow stripe at the top of the fence.
As he rounded first base, Frazier’s eyes lit up until Mazara made the catch. Frazier could only shake his head.
“Shoot, it’s one of those things,” said Frazier, who said he had gotten all of the pitch before the long fly turned into a “hope and a prayer kind of a thing.”
Before Abreu’s game-winner with the bases loaded, it had been that kind of day for the Sox.
Catcher Dioner Navarro’s RBI single in the eighth inning gave the Sox a 3-2 lead before Robertson blew the save. A throwing error by Navarro hurt Robertson’s cause.
Austin Jackson’s suicide- squeeze bunt in the eighth rolled quickly along the infield grass, giving Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland time to throw out Avisail Garcia at the plate.
With two outs, Adam Eaton followed with a single, but Navarro was thrown out trying to score, keeping the Sox’ lead at one run.
With the score tied at 1, Jack- son twice failed to deliver with the bases loaded. He popped out with two outs in the fourth inning before grounding into an inning- ending fielder’s choice in the sixth.
Lost in all the drama was an impressive outing by Carlos Rodon, who held the Rangers to two hits in 6‰ innings but was charged with two earned runs. He struck out seven and walked two.
Melky Cabrera had a solo home run in the second inning.
“These guys have a lot of fight in the later innings,” manager Robin Ventura said. “They find a way to come through.”
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