Surging Chicago White Sox give Sale some run support against Cubs

The Chicago White Sox followed their same formula for recent success Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The pitching was stellar again, and so was the defense.

And just to spice things up a bit, the Sox threw in a little hitting.

It all added to a 5-1 decision win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, and with 9 wins in their last 11 games, the White Sox are officially cooking.

“It's fun,” starting pitcher Chris Sale said after limiting the Cubs to 1 run on 6 hits in 7 innings. “You're coming in here laughing, joking, hearing some music playing. It's always a good time. You get on rolls like this, you've just got to keep going. Been through a bump in the road. You look at it as that and keep going.”

Led by the starting rotation, the Sox have one more game before the all-star break. Given a choice, they'd probably like to keep playing.

“I think everybody is doing what they are capable of doing,” said catcher Tyler Flowers, who broke Saturday's game open with a 2-run double in the seventh inning. “I guess you can say we are kind of hot, but I wouldn't even say that. I think we are just executing game plans.”

It all starts with the White Sox' starters, and Sale (8-4) was typically brilliant in his first start against the rival Cubs.

“His overall command has gotten better,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who is familiar with Sale from his days in the Tampa Bay dugout. “But his changeup is elite.”

Relying on the change, a fastball that reached 99 mph more than once and his slider, Sale struck out 10. The Sox' lone all-star is 5-2 with a 1.59 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 68 innings over his last 9 starts.

“He was pretty good,” Flowers said of Sale. “Early on, he was maybe a little too jacked up. We weren't spotting up as well as we typically do. That caused us to get into deeper counts on some guys. Guys were able to foul off a lot of pitches. It cost us getting a little bit deeper into the game.

“The third or fourth inning, it started to settle down and command got a little bit better. We were able to mix in a fair bit of change-ups, which seems to help calm him down a little bit. His slider was there for the most part, too. We were mixing in all three pitches. It's a tough arsenal to defend.”

The Sox had a scoreless streak of 30 innings before Cubs pinch-hitter Jonathan Herrera hit an RBI double off Sale with one out in the seventh inning.

“Executing pitches,” Flowers said of the pitching staff as a whole. “They are all talented guys. They all have a gift in their arm. They are putting in the preparation and the work. It's pretty easy. You get strike one and get two of the first three for strikes, you take a shot at striking them out and then you trust your defense.

“It's kind of the recipe. When you do that, all your pitches come into play.”

After turning 5 double plays in Friday's 1-0 win over the Cubs, the White Sox played another solid defensive game, and new third baseman Tyler Saladino looked particularly good.

The big surprise was the 5 runs, which is a bounty for the lowest-scoring team in the major leagues.

The Sox are just trying to win as many games as they can and overcome a miserable first three months of the season. Beating the Cubs twice in a row is a little extra special.

“Yeah, man, it's a rivalry,” Sale said. “You're talking about two teams in the same city. It's hard not to have fun. You get up a little bit for it.”

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