Grandal, Abreu power White Sox to 4-2 win over Pirates

Yasmani Grandal and Jose Abreu homered, and five relievers combined for 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball as the Chicago White Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Grandal, who hit a solo homer to lead off the second, is batting .500 (7-for-14) with four homers and 11 RBIs in four games since returning from the 10-day injured list.

“Having Yas around really deepens our lineup,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s doing it all. He’s swing the way he did before he got hurt. It’s really important to get him back.”

Abreu hit his 28th homer in the third. He finished with a .330 batting average, 10 home runs and 25 RBIs in 28 games in August.

The Sox (77-56), who hold a 10-game lead in the AL Central, won for the fourth time in five games. The Pirates (48-84) lost for the fourth time in six games.

White Sox starter Lucas Giolito was pulled with one out in the fifth due to left hamstring tightness. Giolito squatted awkwardly to field Ben Gamel’s infield hit and required medical attention.

Giolito then threw a wild pitch to score Hoy Park, cutting Chicago’s lead to 2-1. Three pitches later, Giolito was in noticeable discomfort after throwing a ball to Wilmer Difo and was pulled after throwing a warmup pitch. Giolito will be checked Wednesday.

“It reminded me of the feeling in 2019 when I pulled it,” said Giolito, who missed two weeks. “This wasn’t as intense. It didn’t want to hold strong. I can’t see it being very long.”

Colin Moran hit a game-tying single off reliever Ryan Tepera.

That was the last hit by the Pirates until one out in the ninth when Kevin Newman singled.

Tepera, Michael Kopech (4-2), Aaron Bummer, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendricks blanked the Pirates the rest of the way.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Grandal-Abreu-power-White-Sox-to-4-2-win-over-16426969.php