Keuchel, Grandal lead White Sox past Blue Jays 5-2

CHICAGO (AP) — Dallas Keuchel thinks he is heading in the right direction. That's a very positive development for a Chicago White Sox team dealing with another major injury.

Keuchel pitched six effective innings, Yasmani Grandal homered and Chicago beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Thursday night.

The White Sox closed out a 5-2 homestand and improved their AL Central lead to a season-high 4 1/2 games over idle Cleveland. Adam Engel also went deep, and reigning AL MVP José Abreu hit two RBI doubles.

But it was Keuchel (5-1) leading the way in another solid performance after he pitched six sharp innings in a no-decision against Detroit in his previous start. Paying closer attention to his tempo, the veteran left-hander limited a dangerous Blue Jays lineup to two runs and six hits.

“Right now is where I thought I would be a little bit earlier in the season,” said Keuchel, who struck out a season-high eight and walked two. “But I'm 70-something innings in now, I'm liking where I'm headed. That's a nice feeling to have, especially when you're kind of searching earlier in the year for some success.”

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Keuchel was locating all his pitches.

“He had us off balance. Like nobody knew what's coming next,” Montoyo said. “So he did a good job. His cutter was moving pretty good today for sure. That's why you saw those awkward swings from us.”

It was the first game for the White Sox since they placed second baseman Nick Madrigal on the injured list with a torn right hamstring. Madrigal got hurt when he tried to beat out a grounder in the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s 6-2 loss to Toronto.

Chicago has been hit hard by injuries this year, but it keeps rolling along.

The loss of Madrigal is "a big blow, but the games still count and we have to...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Keuchel-Grandal-lead-White-Sox-past-Blue-Jays-5-2-16240380.php