CHICAGO — Pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland lined a two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning to lead the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 win against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Moreland’s sharp single to right field lifted Texas to its sixth victory in the past eight games. The Rangers (37-31) won for the third time in 27 games this season when trailing after eight innings.
The White Sox (28-38) lost their eighth consecutive game and fell a season-worst 10 games below .500.
Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis (7-3) earned the win after limiting White Sox hitters to one run in eight innings. Lewis allowed nine hits, walked none and struck out seven.
White Sox right-hander David Robertson (4-2) drew the loss after blowing his fourth save in 17 chances.
Rangers right-hander Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless ninth to collect his 10th save.
The defeat spoiled a tremendous performance by White Sox left-hander Chris Sale, who struck out 14 batters in eight scoreless innings. Sale carried a no-hitter into the sixth before Rangers second baseman Hanser Alberto broke up the effort with a bloop single into center field.
Sale marked his fifth consecutive start with 12 or more strikeouts, joining Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers to achieve the feat.
The White Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on a solo home run by catcher Tyler Flowers. Lewis left a high breaking pitch over the middle part of the plate, and Flowers pulled it down the left field line for his fourth home run of the season.
Sale breezed through his first five innings with only two balls leaving the infield. He struck out six of the first nine hitters he faced with a mix of hard fastballs and pinpoint breaking pitches. Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos was one of the few hitters who made early contact, but Sale’s pitch shattered his bat, and Chirinos flied out weakly to third base as the barrel of his bat landed in the infield grass.
NOTES: Texas LF/1B Ryan Rua was activated from the 60-day disabled list on Friday after a 12-game minor league rehabilitation assignment. Rua, 25, sustained a non-displaced fracture in his right heel April 10 against Houston. … White Sox C Tyler Flowers returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games. … Texas recalled LHP Alex Claudio from Triple-A Round Rock on Friday. Claudio, 23, was 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 16 appearances with Texas from April 27-June 1. To make room for Claudio, the Rangers optioned RHP Anthony Ranaudo to Triple-A Round Rock. … White Sox RF Avisail Garcia returned to the starting lineup after a day off Thursday. … Texas designated LF/RF Jake Smolinski for assignment. He hit .133 (8-for-60) with one home run and six RBIs in 35 games with the Rangers.