Danks goes the distance, Sox take 2 of 3 from Astros
HOUSTON - John Danks earned his first shutout of the season to help the White Sox defeat the Houston Astros 6-0 on Sunday.
Adam LaRoche homered and Conor Gillaspie went 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the White Sox, who won two of three against the first-place Astros.
Houston's Jonathan Villar was thrown out at the plate in the fifth inning as he was trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run. His shot to center sailed over Eaton's head and rolled to the wall atop Tal's Hill before he was thrown out.
In his next plate appearance, Villar doubled in the seventh inning.
He was thrown out in a rundown between third base and home on Jason Castro's single. Villar also committed one fielding error on a wild throw to first base.
A day after being blanked by Dallas Keuchel's four-hit shutout on Saturday, the White Sox responded behind a solid performance from Danks (2-4).
Danks entered Sunday with an 0-2 record and a 9.28 ERA in two starts at Houston. He was 0-3 with a 9.15 ERA in four starts against the Astros, but put it all behind him on Sunday.
It was Danks' third career shutout and first since August 2011 against Seattle. Danks threw 118 pitches, 82 for strikes, walking one and striking out six.
Leading 1-0, the Sox used a three-run third inning to extend their lead.
With the bases loaded, Gillaspie singled to right, scoring Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera. Alexei Ramirez followed by grounding into a force out that scored LaRoche.
The White Sox took an early lead in the second inning when catcher Tyler Flowers dribbled a single to center that scored Gillaspie. It was just Flowers' second RBI in his previous 20 plate appearances. After going 0 for 5 with three strikeouts on Friday, he did not play on Saturday.
Flowers entered Sunday's game with a .139 average in his previous 11 games.
Chicago went up 5-0 in the top of the sixth when Carlos Sanchez singled to center to score Ramirez.
LaRoche extended the lead to 6-0 with a solo homer for his sixth of the year.
Houston starter Roberto Hernandez (2-4) took his second loss in his past seven starts, allowing five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Houston reliever Michael Feliz, 21, made his major league debut in the ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. Feliz was called up after making just one appearance at Double-A Corpus Christi following a callup from Class A Lancaster.
Sox first baseman Jose Abreu sat out for a second straight day with an injured right index finger. Abreu left Friday night's game early with inflammation in the finger, but X-rays were negative. Abreu said Sunday he hopes to play on Tuesday when the White Sox visit the Texas Rangers.