SEATTLE (AP) — Garrett Crochet struck out a career-high 13 over seven dominant innings, Andrew Vaughn homered and drove in the tiebreaking run in the 10th, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Thursday night.
Chicago avoided being swept in the four-game series, but needed extra innings after Seattle star Julio Rodríguez tied it at 2 in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer off closer Michael Kopech. Rodríguez laid off a couple of high fastballs from Kopech (2-6) and drove a 3-1 pitch to right-center for his sixth home run.
Andrés Muñoz (2-3) pitched the 10th for Seattle, just his second outing since June 4 when lower back issues popped up. He gave up a one-out single to Nicky Lopez that sent automatic runner Korey Lee from second base to third. Lee scored on Vaughn’s groundout, a chopper to third.
Tanner Banks worked a perfect inning for his second save. Chicago pitchers finished with 19 strikeouts, their most in a game since 2019.
“We actually played four really good baseball games here. It’s a shame we were 1-3, but we’re leaving here with a win,” manager Pedro Grifol said.
For most of the night, Crochet was the story. Relying almost entirely on his fastball and cutter, the 24-year-old lefty allowed two hits and struck out double-digit batters for the third time in his last four starts. During that four-game span, Crochet has allowed five earned runs and struck out 42.
Crochet’s 13 strikeouts were the most by a White Sox pitcher since Lance Lynn had 16 also against Seattle on June 18, 2023. Crochet’s one big mistake came in the fifth when rookie Tyler Locklear golfed a changeup out to left field for his first career home run.
It was the only changeup Crochet threw among his 102 pitches, according to MLB Statcast data. The rest were fastballs and cutters.
“I think they just protect each other well,” Crochet said of the two pitches. “My heater is fairly straight but has a little bit of cut sometimes. So I think that they look very similar up until the last 5 feet from the plate. That’s kind of allowed it to be its own weapon.”
Seattle starter Emerson Hancock tossed a career-high seven innings and allowed six hits, but the White Sox capitalized on the two costly mistakes he made to two of their most dangerous hitters.
Vaughn hit his eighth homer with one out in the third. Three pitches later, Luis Robert Jr. went deep for the second straight night. Robert had a pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning on Wednesday that tied the game at 1 before Seattle won in extra innings. The White Sox have homered in 14 straight games.
Hancock made a spot start to give the rest of Seattle’s rotation an extra day of rest.
“Can’t say enough about our pitching, defense. We just got shut down tonight,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “Their starter was obviously really good.”
ROSTER UPDATES
White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez is set to begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League. Jiménez has been out since May 21 with a hamstring injury.
Mariners: Dylan Moore was reinstated from the paternity list. RHP Brett de Geus and INF Leo Rivas were optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Chris Flexen (2-5, 5.06 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game series in Arizona. Flexen has a 3.00 ERA and opponents are hitting .176 over his last three starts.
Mariners: After an extra day of rest, RHP Luis Castillo (5-7, 3.35 ERA) will start Friday’s series opener vs. Texas. Castillo allowed two runs over six innings in a victory against the Rangers on April 25.
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