Had the White Sox known Erick Fedde was going to take today's game into the ninth inning, they could've taken it easier on the transaction front before the game.
The White Sox DFA'd Deivi García and optioned Jonathan Cannon while calling up Prelander Berroa and Brad Keller to add some fresh arms to the bullpen. Then Fedde made it moot by leaving only two outs for the relief corps. Jordan Leasure took care of those for his first career save to seal the sweep, and the White Sox gave the Rays a lot to think about on their way out of Chicago.
Fedde, the only White Sox starter without a loss, is now the only White Sox pitcher with multiple wins. He improved to 2-0 and lowered his ERA with 8⅓ innings that were effective as they were efficient. He scattered seven hits, and four of them came in his first and final innings. He wriggled out of the former jam with a popout and the second of his nine strikeouts, and his afternoon got easier from there. He had streaks of eight and 15 consecutive batters retired, with a mildly difficult fourth inning as the only interruption.
Isaac Paredes served as the lone thorn in Fedde's side. He scored both Rays runs, hitting an elevated sinker out to left in the fourth inning for a 1-0 Tampa Bay lead, then an excuse-me single in the ninth that turned into a threat when Harold Ramirez sliced a double to the right-center gap. Paredes scored, and the Rays had the tying run at the plate with two outs to go.
After 108 pitches (72 strikes), Fedde yielded the ball to Leasure, who fell behind 2-0 to Austin Shenton before getting a harmless flyout, then got Curtis Mead to ground out to third for the 27th out.
The Rays' righty-heavy nature allowed Fedde's sweeper to lead the way, as he threw it more often (52 pitches) than his sinker (25) and cutter (24) combined. That said, he also succeeded against a far more modular Minnesota lineup, and he's allowed just three runs total over his last three starts.
The White Sox offense was able to string together enough hits to give Fedde the necessary support, even though Zach Littell limited the Sox to one extra-base hit and zero free bases all afternoon. Gavin Sheets and Eloy Jiménez were in the middle of it. They each enjoyed three-hit games in the middle of the order, and they factored into both crooked numbers.
After Paredes' homer in the top of the fourth, the White Sox responded with four singles over five batters to take the lead. Sheets and Jiménez singled, and after Andrew Benintendi struck out, Robbie Grossman's line drive cleared Curtis Mead's best leaping attempt for an RBI single, and Danny Mendick followed with his own run-scoring hit to right to put the White Sox ahead 2-1.
(Korey Lee then ended the inning by sliding feet-first into first on his attempt to beat out an infield single to the left side, for reasons nobody should understand.)
In the eighth, Sheets and Jiménez followed Tommy Pham's leadoff single with their third base hits to load the baes for Benintendi. Kevin Cash kept the right-handed Manuel Rodriguez on the mound, and Benintendi took advantage of the situation -- and the drawn-in infield -- with a two-run single through the right side for some insurance runs Fedde appreciated. Benintendi now has eight RBIs over the last two games and owns the team lead with 12.
Bullet points:
*The White Sox hadn't swept an opponent since opening last June by taking all three games against Detroit.
*Nicky Lopez made a nice sliding stop on a Jose Siri grounder to end the sixth, which is the kind of play that will bolster his standing as the team's best defender.
