Alec Burleson hit a go-ahead, bases-clearing double in the bottom of the sixth inning and Michael McGreevy pitched six effective innings Sunday afternoon for the host St. Louis Cardinals in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Chicago put its first two runners aboard in the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Colson Montgomery flied to medium center field against George Soriano. Montgomery also made a key error earlier that set up Burleson’s big hit.
Reaching the postseason remains unlikely for the Cardinals (74-76), but they made a definite impact on the American League Central race after taking two of three from the first-place White Sox.
A day after mounting a ninth-inning comeback to stop a four-game losing streak and increase their division lead, the White Sox (76-73) saw the Cleveland Guardians creep within a half-game of first place after beating the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. The White Sox, who have dropped 10 of 14, head to Cleveland for a three-game showdown starting Monday night.
White Sox rookie right-hander David Sandlin retired his first 16 batters before Nathan Church blooped a single to right with one out in the bottom of the sixth. The No. 9 hitter, Masyn Winn, followed with another bloop single to left, which brought White Sox pitching coach Zach Bove to the mound for a meeting.
Sandlin responded by striking out Bryan Torres for the second out, but Ivan Herrera reached to load the bases when Montgomery booted a routine-looking grounder to short. White Sox manager Will Venable called on left-hander Chris Murphy to face Burleson.
Burleson, a lefty who is much weaker against same-sided pitchers, did a great job fighting off a pitch on his hands, dumping a three-run double inside the line in right. It gave him 109 RBIs, putting him in the major league lead at the time.
Sandlin (2-2) allowed three unearned runs and two hits to go with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. He’s in his third stint this season with the White Sox, having been recalled from Triple-A after Saturday’s comeback win.
The White Sox continued to struggle with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-7 and stranding seven overall. They failed to add any runs after Sam Antonacci led off the sixth with a triple.
McGreevy (7-9) allowed a run, three hits and three walks with six strikeouts after posting a 6.26 ERA over his previous nine starts.
Gordon Graceffo struck out three in two scoreless innings, and Soriano converted his fourth save despite the traffic.
The Cardinals came in 7 1/2 games back in the NL Wild Card chase.
