CHICAGO — Mikie Mahtook singled with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to drive in Logan Forsythe and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
Forsythe, who drove in two runs, started the winning rally with a one-out walk.
Evan Longoria had three hits and an RBI. Rays top prospect Richie Shaffer went 0-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and a walk in four plate appearances before leaving the game in the seventh.
Jake McGee (1-1) pitched a perfect eighth to get the win and Brad Boxberger worked out of a jam in the ninth for his 27th save. David Robertson (4-3) took the loss.
Jose Abreu and Carlos Sanchez each had a two-run homer for Chicago, which has dropped four of five following a hot streak.
The White Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, but centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier threw out Alexei Ramirez at the plate for the first out of the inning. Ramirez led off with a single and stole second and tried to score from there on a single by Adam LaRoche.
The Rays grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Joey Butler and Longoria each singled with one out to put runners on first and second. Forsythe followed with a double to right field to score Butler.
Tampa Bay stretched the lead to 2-0 in the fifth. Butler doubled with one out, went to third on a single by Longoria and scored on a sacrifice fly by Forsythe.
The White Sox, meanwhile, managed just one hit off starter Nathan Karns through the first five innings, a leadoff double by Abreu in the fourth. Abreu was left stranded at second.
Karns’ mastery ended in the sixth inning — and quickly. Tyler Saladino singled with one out and Abreu followed with a long drive to centre that just cleared the fence — and the glove of Tampa Bay centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier — for a two-run homer to tie the score at 2.
The Rays reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh off reliever Jake Petricka. Pinch-hitter Grady Sizemore led off with a double and advanced to third on a throwing error by right fielder Avisail Garcia. Sizemore scored one out later on a double to left by Longoria.
But the White Sox answered again, this time with a two-run shot by Sanchez off right-hander Steve Geltz for a 4-3 Chicago lead in the bottom of the inning.
The back-and-forth continued in the top of the eighth. With two outs and none on, Sizemore hit a homer off Chicago left-hander Zach Duke to tie the score again.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: OF Desmond Jennings (left knee bursitis) was scheduled to play Monday night for Triple-A Durham in the third game of his rehab assignment. LHP Drew Smyly (torn left labrum) will make a rehab start on Thursday for Triple-A Durham.
White Sox: OF J.B. Shuck (strained left hamstring) will be eligible to be activated from the disabled list in two weeks and the team is hopeful he’ll be ready. "He’s walking around, getting treatment," manager Robin Ventura said, "but we won’t know more until they test it."
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Chris Archer (9-8, 2.54 ERA) pitches the middle contest of the three-game series on Tuesday night. Archer set a Rays record by retiring the first 19 batters in his last start against the Detroit Tigers, but dropped a 2-1 decision.
White Sox: LHP Chris Sale (9-6, 3.20), who was roughed up for seven runs and a career-high 12 hits in his last start against the Red Sox, looks to rebound against the Rays.
