Mercedes' hot night powers White Sox over Rangers
Rookie sensation Yermín Mercedes added to his scorching start with 4 more hits, including a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning, and the White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 9-7 on Friday night despite blowing a 5-run lead.
Yon Moncada had 3 hits and a home run.
Liam Hendriks got the final five outs and the White Sox (10-9) moved above .500 for the first time this season. They won for the fourth time in five games even though Texas' Adolis García hit two more homers.
The Sox were rolling along with a 5-0 lead after chasing Dane Dunning in a five-run third, but the game turned quickly.
Luis Robert singled leading off the seventh against Kyle Cody (0-2), and Mercedes broke a 6-all tie one out later when he lined a double to center field. He moved up on Andrew Vaughn's single and scored on Nick Madrigal's sharp groundout to make it 8-6.
Mercedes raised his batting average to .429. Moncada added a solo homer in the eighth.
Codi Heuer (2-1) worked 1⅓ innings for the win. Hendriks came on with one out in the eighth and runners on first and second and struck out Willie Calhoun and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to end that threat. The closer gave up a solo drive to García in the ninth before striking out Nick Solak for his fourth save in five chances.
Solak hit a 2-run homer against Dylan Cease in the fourth, and García cut it to 6-5 in the fifth when he lined a three-run drive to center off Evan Marshall. The Cuban slugger has 5 home runs in 10 games since he was called up from the Rangers' alternate training site.
Cease gave up two runs and three hits in 3⅓ innings.
Dunning got tagged by his former team for 5 runs and 8 hits in 2⅔ innings.
Injury report:
Expected to be ready to come off the injured list on this nine-game homestand after injuring his hamstring late in spring training, outfielder Adam Engel apparently needs a little more time.
"We are still thinking some time in early May maybe for Engel," manager Tony La Russa said "I doubt any time in April, but he's making progress."
Lance Lynn, on the IL with a strained right trapezius retroactive to April 17, won't be rushed since the White Sox didn't play Wednesday or Thursday and have another off day coming Monday.
"We have the luxury now with these days off, so we don't really have to push Lance," La Russa said. "He's feeling better but we want to make sure he's 100 percent plus. We'll wait. We'll see where he come out next week."
Hamilton activated:
Before Friday night's game against Texas, the Sox reinstated outfielder Billy Hamilton (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list and optioned right-hander Alex McRae to their Schaumburg training facility.
Hamilton was 3-for-11 (.273) with 2 walks, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored and 2 stolen bases before going on the IL.
"This morning, I couldn't sleep," Hamilton said. "I was excited about being back. The process of getting this hamstring back right has been really, really good for me. The training staff did a really great job of getting me to the point where I could get back as quick as possible and not have to extend my time. I'm excited about that. Now that I feel like I'm back and healthy, I'm ready to battle with the boys."
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.