Shields flirts with no-hitter in Chicago White Sox's loss

Heading into the seventh inning of Sunday's game against the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox catcher Omar Narvaez had a feeling.

"I was thinking we could do this," he said.

"This" was a James Shields no-hitter, a curious thought considering the veteran starter's struggles since joining the Sox in a trade from the San Diego Padres in June 2016.

But there Shields was through 6 innings, baffling the Twins with a lowered arm angle and tantalizing changeup.

"I felt really good," he said.

The 36-year-old veteran walked Brian Dozier leading off the seventh inning, but he responded by striking out Max Kepler.

That brought Eduardo Escobar to the plate and Minnesota's third baseman ended Shields' no-hit bid with a single on a hanging curveball.

Leading 2-0 at the time, the Sox quickly fell apart and lost 5-3 to the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.

"Everybody was just watching him do his thing," manager Rick Renteria said. "Obviously, cheering him on. He has a lot of respect from the guys in there. I'm sure they all enjoyed watching it."

The first 6⅓ innings were enjoyable for the White Sox and the crowd of 17,424, but some leaky infield defense from third baseman Yolmer Sanchez, shortstop Tim Anderson and second baseman Jose Rondon opened the door for the Twins' rally.

Shields, who had a no-hitter through 7 innings against Kansas City on Aug. 3, 2009, while pitching for Tampa Bay, wound up going 6⅔ innings against Minnesota. He allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks.

"I wasn't thinking about (a no-hitter) until the end there," Shields said. "At the end of the day, we had a 2-run lead and we gave it up. It was a good effort, but we came up short."

In his last 2 starts, Shields has pitched 12⅔ innings and allowed 4 earned runs on 4 hits. His changeup has been an effective pitch.

"It's been feeling pretty good," Shields said. "If I get ahead in the count I'm able to throw it a little bit more. I'm getting a good feel for it right now. Hopefully I can keep building off these last 2 starts."

Farm report:

For Class AA Birmingham on Sunday, outfielder Eloy Jimenez was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in a 6-2 loss at Tennessee.

Jimenez homered for the sixth time in only 17 games with the Barons. He missed the first half of April with a strained pectoral muscle.

For Triple-A Charlotte, Michael Kopech started Sunday at Columbus and lasted just 3 innings.

The Sox's top pitching prospect allowed 2 runs on 1 hit and 4 walks. He also had 3 strikeouts, hit a pair of batters and threw 66 pitches (34 strikes).

At high Class A Winston-Salem, Dylan Cease started against Buies Creek and got the win after allowing 1 earned run on 8 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. The right-hander had 6 strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 1.95.