TORONTO — The Chicago White Sox hit three homers off starter Hyun Jin Ryu before hanging on for a 10-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at Rogers Centre.
Cesar Hernandez, Luis Robert and Jose Abreu went deep to stake Chicago to an early lead while left-hander Carlos Rodon kept the Blue Jays in check in his first start in almost three weeks.
The Blue Jays made a game of it with a five-run sixth inning, anchored by Marcus Semien’s second homer of the afternoon.
Chicago cleanup hitter Eloy Jiminez hit a solo shot in the ninth to help the White Sox salvage a split of the four-game series. Craig Kimbrel picked up the final three outs for his 24th save.
The Blue Jays (66-60), who have lost nine of their last 13 games, had their slim playoff hopes take another hit.
With the loss, Toronto fell five games behind the Red Sox in the race for the second American League wild-card spot. Boston was scheduled to play the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.
Ryu (12-7) gave up seven hits and tied a season-high with seven earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. He walked a batter and had four strikeouts.
Semien hit a solo shot in the first inning but Hernandez answered in the following frame with a solo blast of his own.
It was the first start for Rodon (10-5) since Aug. 7. He was reinstated from the 10-day injured list (left shoulder fatigue) before the game.
Chicago (74-55) hit back-to-back homers in a three-run third inning. Robert’s two-run shot was his fourth homer of the year and Abreu followed with his 27th blast of the season.
Leury Garcia’s two-run double powered Chicago’s three-run fourth that forced Ryu’s exit.
Rodon, meanwhile, was cruising until the skies opened in the fifth inning. As the retractable roof slowly closed, the Blue Jays scored when Reese McGuire came home on a Semien single.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to move Semien to third before play was delayed for about 10 minutes so the grounds crew could rake fresh dirt on the rain-soaked mound.
When play resumed, Rodon struck out Teoscar Hernandez to end the threat. The all-star southpaw gave up five hits, two earned runs and one walk and had three strikeouts over five innings.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo turned to low-leverage pitching options with the White Sox well out in front. Brad Hand gave up two runs in the sixth as Chicago piled on.
Chicago reliever Michael Kopech was charged with all five runs in the Toronto half of the inning. Semien capped the outburst with a two-run shot for his 32nd homer of the season.
The White Sox outhit the Blue Jays 12-10. Attendance was 14,958 – a sellout under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions – and the game took three hours 14 minutes to play.
Notes: The in-house DJ had some fun during the delay by playing the Rihanna hit “Umbrella” as the rain came down. … Blue Jays bench coach John Schneider was ejected in the seventh inning by home-plate umpire Jordan Baker. … Hernandez has 21 homers this season. … Toronto outfielder George Springer (knee) participated in baserunning drills before the game and took part in batting practice. The team has not set a date for his return. … The Blue Jays will begin a weekend series on Friday in Detroit. Left-hander Steven Matz (10-7, 3.94) and Tigers right-hander Matt Manning (3-5, 5.91) are the scheduled starters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2021.
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Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press