White Sox 10, Astros 1: Smooth Sale-ing

What was a rather uneventful scoreless affair for four and a half innings quickly turned into a blow-out thanks to two fielding mistakes by the Astros infield. First, Matt Downs threw away a throw to first to allow Alexei Ramirez to reach. Then, the 2008 Kannapolis Intimidators Alumni Club went to work.

Jordan Danks hit an infield single, on which another errant throw by Jose Altuve let Ramirez advance to third base. Eduardo Escobar coaxed a walk. Non-Intimidator Alejandro De Aza singled home Ramirez. Gordon Beckham then singled home his former and current teammates Danks and Escobar.

And the White Sox weren't done. Adam Dunn scored De Aza on a sacrifice fly. After a Paul Konerko walk, Rios singled up the middle to send Beckham home. Just like that, it was 5-0 and Houston starter Jordan Lyles was chased from the game.

Chris Sale typically didn't need anything more than that. For the 11th time in 11 starts, Sale did not give up more than 3 runs. He pitched 8 scoreless innings, gave up 4 hits, walked no one and struck out 7.

The White Sox added another run in the 6th on a Beckham single that scored Danks. And then they piled on in the 8th against a hapless Rhiner Cruz. They loaded the bases with nobody out on three consecutive singles and Dunn emptied them on a grand slam to center.

With the game 10-0, Robin Ventura decided 101 pitches was enough for Sale and brought in Zach Stewart, who promptly lost the shutout on a Jed Lowrie home run. But even Stewart isn't capable of erasing that big of a lead and the Astros settled for 10-1.

Bullets:

• In his first start, Danks was 2-5 with a stolen base and a couple strikeouts. Cue the hyperbole.
• Escobar did his part to improve the bench's collective offensive line for the season, going 1-3 with a walk. He also played his typically good defense at third base.
• Rounding out a good day for the 2008 Intimidators Alumni Club, Beckham was 3-5.
  
• Brent Lillibridge continues to play himself out of a roster spot, coming in as a defensive substitute for Konerko and going 0-1.
• Of the 17 White Sox hits, only Dunn's grand slam went for extra bases.
• Tomorrow, another member of the 2008 Kannapolis Intimidators Alumni Club will start for the Astros: Lucas Harrell.
  

Record: 33-26 | Box