Field Level Media
Apr 10, 2019
Tommy Pham homered twice to back a combined six-hitter from Tyler Glasnow and Jalen Beeks and lift the visiting Tampa Bay Rays to a 9-1 victory against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon, capping a sweep of the three-game series.
The surging Rays have won four successive series to open a season for the first time in franchise history and boast victories in 10 of 13 games overall.
Austin Meadows had three hits and three RBIs and Avisail Garcia added three hits and two RBIs for the Rays in his return to Chicago. Garcia, a member of the White Sox from 2013-18, went 8-for-15 with a home run and four RBIs in the series.
Tampa Bay pitching shined again in Wednesday's finale. Glasnow (3-0) was the winner, scattering two hits and one walk over six scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 11. Glasnow retired the final 11 batters he faced and threw 54 of his 85 pitches for strikes while lowering his ERA to 0.53.
Beeks, a left-hander, spelled the right-handed Glasnow with three innings of one-run, four-hit, three-strikeout relief to earn the save.
The White Sox collected three of their hits in the ninth inning.
Yolmer Sanchez, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez doubled for Chicago, which scored its lone run in the ninth on Yonder Alonso's RBI groundout. The White Sox struck out 39 times in the series.
Tampa Bay took control early with three first-inning runs. Meadows opened the game with a single before Pham homered to center field. Garcia punctuated the rally with an RBI single three batters later.
White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez escaped further damage in the frame by getting a strikeout and pop-out with two runners aboard to end the inning, but struggled overall in falling to 0-2.
Lopez gave up eight runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out five. In addition to Pham's two home runs, he surrendered a solo shot to Meadows in the fourth.
The game began with a 1 hour, 39 minute rain delay.
--Field Level Media