09/26/23 10:53:00
Printable Page
09/26 22:52 CDT Christian Walker delivers as Diamondbacks pound White Sox 15-4
to strengthen wild-card positioning
Christian Walker delivers as Diamondbacks pound White Sox 15-4 to strengthen
wild-card positioning
By JAY COHEN
AP Baseball Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- Christian Walker broke into the club Tuesday. Smashed through
the front door with three sweet swings for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Walker homered twice and drove in six runs, and the Diamondbacks added to their
wild-card push with a 15-4 victory over the lowly Chicago White Sox.
Ketel Marte hit his 25th homer and Geraldo Perdomo also delivered at the plate,
but Walker recorded the biggest blows while notching a career achievement. The
first baseman pushed his numbers to 33 homers and 103 RBIs on the season, going
30-100 for the first time.
"It makes me proud to think about," Walker said. "It's something that I've had
my eye on for a long time. Especially at this level, it's just the standard."
Walker hit a solo shot in the second inning and a two-run drive in the sixth in
his fourth multihomer game of the year. He also lined a three-run triple into
the gap in right-center in the fifth.
Led by Walker, the Diamondbacks bounced back nicely after dropping two of three
at the New York Yankees. Ryne Nelson (8-8) got the win, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless
innings in relief of a shaky Zach Davies.
"I'm so proud of these guys for fighting through some tough circumstances,
tough outcomes in New York," manager Torey Lovullo said.
Arizona (83-74) moved one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs for the second of
three NL wild cards. The Cubs blew a six-run lead in a 7-6 loss at Atlanta.
"We're not dwelling on other games. We're not expecting other teams to get us
in," Walker said. "But also, when we see the scores change and the lead change
in games like that, we're aware of it and we're rooting for the teams that we
need to win, for sure."
Eloy Jimnez hit a three-run homer and an RBI single for the White Sox (60-97),
who hurt themselves with two big errors. Jos Urea (0-7) surrendered seven
runs --- four earned --- and four hits in four-plus innings.
Chicago had a 4-1 lead before Urea's throwing error helped Arizona score two
runs in the third. The Diamondbacks then went ahead to stay with six runs in
the fifth.
With Perdomo aboard after a leadoff walk, Corbin Carroll hit a grounder to
second. Elvis Andrus threw to Tim Anderson looking for the force at second
base, but the shortstop was charged with an error after a replay challenge
showed he was off the bag when he caught the ball.
"Couple mistakes opened the floodgates for them, and after that, we didn't get
much going offensively after they took Davies out of the game," White Sox
manager Pedro Grifol said.
Urea departed after Tommy Pham's bases-loaded walk tied it at 4. Walker then
greeted Yohan Ramirez with his second triple of the season. Alek Thomas hit an
RBI single in his hometown, and Gabriel Moreno made it 9-4 with a sacrifice fly.
Marte went deep in the eighth, and Perdomo hit a two-run triple in Arizona's
three-run ninth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: OF Luis Robert Jr. (MCL sprain) was placed on the 10-day injured
list, ending his career-best season. OF Tyler Naquin was brought up from
Triple-A Charlotte, and RHP Jimmy Lambert (right ankle) was transferred to the
60-day IL.
UP NEXT
Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (2-9, 6.08 ERA) takes the mound Wednesday.
The rookie allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 loss at the New
York Yankees on Friday night. Chicago did not announce its starter before the
game.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
|
