White Sox slug their way past McCutchen, Pirates 11-5
PITTSBURGH - Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert Jr., Oscar Colás had two hits and drove in two runs each to lead the White Sox past the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5 on Saturday night.
Tim Anderson, Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn also had two hits each for Chicago, which jumped on starter Vince Velasquez (0-2) early to end a two-game skid. Elvis Andrus also drove in two runs for the White Sox.
Velasquez lasted just 2 2/3 innings against the team he played for in 2022 as Pittsburgh saw its four-game winning streak snapped. Velasquez struggled with his command, allowing five runs, six hits and four walks while getting just eight outs.
Chicago pounded out 14 hits in all against Velasquez and four relievers. The White Sox have at least 10 hits in all six road games this season.
Mike Clevinger (2-0) wasn't nearly as crisp as he was in his Chicago debut last week, when he tossed five shutout innings against World Series champion Houston. Clevinger gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings with two walks and a strikeout.
Still, it marked a minor step forward for a staff that entered with a major league-high 7.70 ERA.
Andrew McCutchen had three hits, including his first home run for the Pirates since Sept. 26, 2017. Carlos Santana had three hits and drove in two runs on his 37th birthday. Rodolfo Castro added two hits for Pittsburgh, which came back down to earth a bit after an electric victory on Friday in their home opener punctuated by McCutchen's emotional return to PNC Park as a member of the Pirates.
The White Sox didn't overpower Pittsburgh as much as peck away. They broke open the game in the third when Velasquez's control abandoned him. Chicago batted around while scoring four runs on three hits, three walks and a wild pitch.
Velasquez appeared to tweak his left leg on a pitch that skipped past catcher Jason Delay, allowing Andrew Benintendi to score from third to make it 3-1. Velasquez stayed in the game but Grandal laced a two-run single and the White Sox were in control.
Pittsburgh closed to 6-4 on an RBI single by Santana in the fifth but got no closer.
Chicago tacked on five runs in the seventh against Rob Zastryzny and Duane Underwood Jr.
UP NEXT
The three-game series wraps on Sunday when Chicago's Michael Kopech (0-1, 13.50 ERA) faces Pittsburgh's Johan Oviedo (0-0, 7.71.) Kopech tied a career high by giving up seven runs in his first start of the season last Monday against San Francisco.