Right-hander Lucas Giolito struck out seven in six strong innings, Gavin Sheets capped a big weekend with a three-run double and the Chicago White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the host San Francisco Giants with a 13-4 thumping Sunday afternoon.
Seby Zavala collected two doubles, a single and three RBIs, while Leury Garcia and Josh Harrison scored three times apiece for the White Sox, who wrapped up a 4-2 California swing by equaling their season high for runs. Chicago also put up 13 in a shutout win at Detroit last month.
Austin Wynns, who had caught the first eight innings, pitched the ninth for the Giants and allowed the final two runs and two of Chicago’s 17 hits.
Pitching at San Francisco for the first time in his career, Giolito (5-4) dominated the Giants from the get-go, striking out the first four batters he faced and seven of the first eight.
In ending a four-game winless run, he limited the hosts to one run and three hits in his six innings. He walked two.
Luis Robert doubled home two unearned runs off the Giants’ third pitcher, Sean Hjelle (0-1), to open the scoring in the third, and Zavala’s RBI single made it 3-0 in the fourth before Chicago broke the game open in the fifth.
Consecutive singles by Andrew Vaughn, Robert and Jose Abreu loaded the bases with no outs, sent Hjelle to the showers and set the stage for Sheets, who cleared the bases with a liner to left field off Sam Long for a 6-0 lead.
The visitors made it a blowout with a five-run eighth that featured a two-run single by Vaughn, a Bay Area product who, like fellow California native Giolito, was playing his first MLB games at Oracle Park in this series.
Hjelle took the loss, charged with six runs (four earned) on eight hits in two-plus innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk anyone.
Vaughn joined Sheets and Zavala with three RBIs for Chicago. Garcia finished with a double and two singles, while Vaughn, Robert, Abreu and Harrison had two hits apiece. Tim Anderson and Robert scored twice apiece.
Yermin Mercedes, Wilmer Flores, Mike Yastrzemski and Darin Ruf had consecutive doubles in a three-run Giants ninth to complete the scoring.
Batting as the pitcher, Wynns struck out to end the game.
Joc Pederson doubled and singled to account for two of the seven hits for the Giants, who completed a 2-6 homestand.
–Field Level Media
