ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Carlos Rodon pitched beautifully again for the White Sox, but Rays right fielder Carlos Gomez turned in the night's finest performance. Gomez, after getting hit by a Rodon pitch, took a half-step toward first and then hit the deck as if being directed by Martin Scorsese.
He and Rodon laughed about it between innings Saturday.
As for the game, the Sox improved to 40-70 with a little help from the Rays. After Tim Anderson led off the ninth inning of a tie game with a double, Leury Garcia twice tried to bunt him over. Both went foul. Third baseman Matt Duffy grabbed Garcia's third attempt and fired wide of first base, allowing Anderson to score in the 2-1 victory.
Rodon gave up only one run in six innings, and it was unearned.
Gomez lined a ball to right, which Avisail Garcia was a bit slow to corral. Gomez advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on an infield single. That was it. Rodon allowed three hits and walked five in his fifth straight quality start.
Rays starter Blake Snell also pitched almost flawlessly. His mistake was serving up a 2-0 fastball to Jose Abreu, who obliterated it over the center-field wall for his 19th blast _ his third in as many games.
An inning later, in the fifth, Sox manager Rick Renteria got tossed after arguing the results of a replay review, believing Yolmer Sanchez beat a force play at second. It was his fifth ejection of the season and 18th of his managerial career.
