CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez hit a solo shot, rookie Konnor Griffin singled in two runs in Pittsburgh’s three-run seventh inning and the Pirates held on to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory.
Rafael Flores Jr. added an RBI single to help the Pirates win for the eighth time in 10 games to climb back to .500.
Pittsburgh used eight pitchers to hand the White Sox a second straight loss and their seventh
in their last 10. AL Central-leading Chicago (75-70) maintained a two-game lead over Cleveland, which lost at Baltimore.
The benches and bullpens emptied in the seventh, but order was quickly restored.
Yohan Ramirez, Pittsburgh's sixth pitcher, entered and got Miguel Vargas to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded and the Pirates head 4-1. Sam Antonacci elbowed Brandon Lowe at second as he came up from his slide to set off the fracas.
Antonacci’s RBI infield single had driven in Chicago's first run.
White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami hit his 31st homer in the eighth to cut it to 4-2, but struck out in his first two times at the plate, running his streak of strikeouts to eight straight plate appearances. Murakami was hit by a pitch from Gregory Soto in his third time up.
The White Sox loaded the bases off Luke Weaver with one out in the eighth, but Chase Meidroth lined to third for an inning-ending double-play.
Pirates opener Lake Bachar got the first five outs. Brandon Eisert (3-2) followed with 2 1/3 innings of hitless ball, striking out five, for the win. Carmen Mlodzinski, Soto, Camilo Doval, Ramirez and Weaver followed before Mason Montgomery pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 11th save
White Sox starter Davis Martin (9-7) allowed one run, on Valdez’s 17th homer in the fifth, and four hits in five innings in his second start since coming off the injured list from a tight middle finger blister.
The Pirates were set to send RHP Jared Jones (3-6, 4.46 ERA) to the mound Thursday in the series finale. The White Sox has not announced their starter.
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