Blue Jays' woes continue as Harrison's walk-off single in 12th inning wins it for White Sox
Toronto outfielder George Springer exits game with right elbow discomfort
Josh Harrison hit a game-ending single with two outs in the 12th inning, and the Chicago White Sox topped the Toronto Blue Jays for a wild 7-6 victory on Tuesday night in Chicago.
Luis Robert matched a career high with four RBIs and made a sliding grab in centre field in the top of the 12th, helping the White Sox (33-33) win for the sixth time in eight games. The reigning AL Central champions returned to .500 for the first time since a 5-4 victory over the crosstown Cubs on May 29.
Vince Velasquez (3-3) worked two innings for his first win since May 6. He committed a balk before his first pitch, setting up Raimel Tapia's tiebreaking single in the 11th, but retired the Blue Jays in order in the 12th.
Alejandro Kirk homered and drove in two runs for Toronto, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Bradley Zimmer made a memorable catch in centre field, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double in the 10th.
Blue Jays slugger George Springer was removed in the eighth inning because of right elbow discomfort.
Aim for the stars, <a href="https://twitter.com/alejandro_kirk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alejandro_kirk</a> ⭐️ <a href="https://t.co/32PCryfiKz">pic.twitter.com/32PCryfiKz</a>
—@BlueJays
The White Sox nearly wasted a stellar start by Dylan Cease, who matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in six dominant innings. The White Sox went 6 for 21 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base.
Chicago trailed 4-2 before Robert hit a two-run single off Jordan Romano with two outs in the ninth, delighting the crowd of 20,529 on a hot, muggy night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
After Abreu singled, putting runners on the corners, AJ Pollock hit a liner to centre. But Zimmer, who entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth, made a diving grab, sending the game to extra innings.
Cease was working on a no-hitter before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off the sixth with an infield single to shortstop. The right-hander retired his next three batters, striking out Bichette looking on his 101st pitch.
Kirk hit his seventh homer in the seventh against Jimmy Lambert. The Blue Jays grabbed a 4-2 lead with three runs in the eighth, sending nine batters to the plate.
With one out and runners on second and third, Cavan Biggio hit a looper up the middle that eluded hustling shortstop Tim Anderson in short centre field. Biggo's RBI single off Davis Martin tied it at 2.
Bo Bichette then drove in Gurriel with a chopper to Anderson, and consecutive walks to Guerrero and Kirk gave Toronto a 4-2 lead.
The Blue Jays' rally got Kevin Gausman off the hook for what would have been a hard-luck loss. The right-hander struck out seven while working six innings of two-run ball.