White Sox 5, Rays 4: Homering, then hanging on

The rain delay pushed the game into a scheduling conflict (football party), so here’s a catch-up bullet-point recap:

*The White Sox blasted their way to victory with four homers, including back-to-back homers to open a game for the third time in franchise history.

*Chris Archer gave up blasts to Alen Hanson and Yolmer Sanchez, then departed with forearm tightness. Omar Narvaez joined them in the Unlikely Homer Parade in the fourth, and Avisail Garcia hit the decisive two-run dinger out in the same direction, though it was an opposite-field job for him.

*Garcia and Sanchez both went 3-for-4 with a homer, and Sanchez was on base for Garcia’s 14th of the season.

*A 78-minute rain delay cut Carlos Rodon’s promising start short after four innings start short after four innings and a 3-1 lead, giving a reliever a chance to pick up an easy victory. Carson Fulmer ended up picking up his first career win by carrying the game through the sixth inning, which was actually longer than his start a week and a a a half ago.

*Fulmer gave up a solo homer to Logan Morrison on a knee-high two-seamer that split the plate in the sixth after working a scoreless fifth. He helped his own cause by making a great play on a bunt by Steven Souza Jr. that tested Fulmer on the wet grass. Fulmer slipped, but his throw still made it to first on the fly.

*The Sox had to white-knuckle it through the last two innings. The Rays tagged former teammate Danny Farquhar for a run after two outs in the eighth, and Juan Minaya loaded the bases with an HBP and two singles to start the ninth. He induced a grounder to third from Evan Longoria, and Yolmer Sanchez took it to third to start a 5-4 double play to ease the tension, some of which Longoria restored by stealing second. Nevertheless, Minaya struck out Morrison to end it.

Record: 53-81 | Box score