Jon Gray retires last 15 batters pitching into 8th as Rangers beat White Sox 3-2

AP Baseball Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas right-hander Jon Gray got into quite a groove after allowing an early run. He just kept throwing strikes and retiring batters.

Gray pitched into the eighth inning while getting out the last 15 batters he faced as the Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Tuesday night.

“It’s been a long time since I felt that,” Gray said. “I’ve been searching for that for a while. It does feel really good, and I think it’s something that’s going to continue to get better. I really do.”

Gray (5-4) struck out five and walked none while throwing 63 of his 80 pitches for strikes in his 7 2/3 innings. It was the deepest he had been in a game since April 30, and came four days after he threw a scoreless inning in relief against Baltimore. He had two starts the second half of June when he gave up at least eight runs.

“Sometimes a guy needs a reset … and maybe just needs a break,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It worked out well for him, somewhat of a break, just freshen the arm up a little bit. He just went out there with a sense of determination that you like.”

After Andrew Vaughn’s RBI single with two outs in the third inning, the White Sox didn’t get another batter on base against Gray. The last was pinch-hitter Tommy Pham for the second out of the eighth, when shortstop Jonathan Ornelas made a backhanded stop and was falling away from first base when he made a incredible throw.

“That was unbelievable. It really shocked me. I just thought that there was no chance at that one,” Gray said. “Really fired me up.”

The White Sox (27-76) have lost nine games in a row and 15 of 18. They are only the 12th team in MLB history with 76 losses in their first 103 games, and the first since the 1979 Oakland Athletics.

All-Star closer Kirby Yates, who gave up a ninth-inning homer in a non-save situation in the series opener Monday night, got the final two outs for his 18th save in as many chances. Andrew Benintendi led off the ninth with a homer off Josh Sborz.

Texas went ahead to stay with two runs in the first against hard-throwing All-Star lefty and AL strikeout leader Garrett Crochet (6-7). Robbie Grossman and Josh Smith had back-to-back singles, and Adolis García had an RBI single before a double steal that included Smith swiping home for a 2-0 lead. Smith added an RBI double in the eighth.

Crochet, a potential trade target for contending teams, has 157 strikeouts after fanning seven in four innings. The 25-year-old converted reliever already has thrown a career-high 113 1/3 innings in 21 starts. The White Sox have limited him to 10 innings in his three July starts, plus a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game in Texas a week ago.

“From the second inning on, I started commanding it a little bit better,” said Crochet, who threw 49 of 74 pitches for strikes. “I was aware before the game even started of my pitch count. So just one of those things, trying to economize pitches as best as possible, but also trying to get outs.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RHP Jacob deGrom (right elbow surgery rehab) had a 40-pitch throwing session Tuesday, and will have another Friday. Manager Bruce Bochy said the two-time Cy Young Award winner looked good. “It’s pretty cool to watch how effortless it is, hitting 94 or 95 mph,” Bochy said. … 3B Josh Jung (right wrist fracture) faced live pitching and had no pain.

UP NEXT

Texas RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-4, 3.36 ERA) starts Wednesday with a streak of 116 consecutive batters faced without allowing a walk, including all 98 batters in his four starts in July. White Sox RHP Chris Flexen (2-9, 5.22) is 0-6 over his last 13 starts.

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