Rays beat White Sox 8-4; McHugh earns first save

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Lowe, Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle each had two hits and two RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 8-4 on Saturday.

Wander Franco also had two hits and scored twice as Tampa Bay won for the fifth time in six games. The top prospect has reached base in 23 consecutive games.

Luis Patiño (3-3) pitched six innings of two-run ball, and Collin McHugh got five outs for his first career save.

The AL East-leading Rays finished with 11 hits while scoring at least eight runs for the 11th time in 15 games.

José Abreu had two hits for Chicago, which rallied for a 7-5 victory in the opener of the weekend series between AL powers. Eloy Jiménez drove in two runs.

A lucky bounce helped the Rays score three runs in the first inning against Dallas Keuchel (8-7). With two on and two out, Franco hit a ground ball that bounced off third base and over the head of third baseman Yoán Moncada, allowing Nelson Cruz to score from second. Lowe followed with a two-run double.

“I think it was just good luck,” Franco said of his first hit. “That gave us a vibe right away that we had the feeling we were going to win. That's when good things happen.”

AL Central-leading Chicago trimmed Tampa Bay's lead to 6-4 with two runs in the eighth, but the Rays responded with two in the bottom half. Margot doubled home Lowe, and Wendle had a run-scoring groundout.

Keuchel was charged with six runs and nine hits in five innings. The veteran left-hander dropped to 1-4 in his last seven starts.

“Six of the nine hits were on the ground today. Things didn't bounce my way,” Keuchel said. “It seemed like we were one or two inches away from a couple of double plays that could have changed the game.”

Patiño allowed...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Rays-beat-White-Sox-8-4-McHugh-earns-first-save-16402914.php