CHICAGO — An early lead and a spot-on Carlos Rodón made for a dangerous combination for the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field.
The Sox took a two-run lead in the first inning against right-hander Adbert Alzolay, and five pitchers combined to shut out the Cubs in a 4-0 victory Saturday. After blowing a save Friday in his return to Wrigley, Craig Kimbrel threw a perfect eighth with two strikeouts, and fellow former Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera kept them off the board in the ninth to secure the Sox win.
The Cubs struggled to make contact against Rodón, who struck out 11 in five-plus innings. Rodón generated 19 swings and misses, including 12 with his fastball.
The only two hits for the Cubs off Rodón came on a Frank Schwindel single in the second and David Bote’s double in the fourth. The Cubs managed only five hits, all but one singles, and struck out 17 times.
Alzolay locked in after the first, retiring 16 of the next 18 Sox batters he faced. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a hitter in 6 2/3 innings. It was an encouraging performance for Alzolay, who bounced back from one of his worst starts of the season.
The Cubs bullpen tried to keep it close for another late rally, but César Hernández and José Abreu hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth against reliever Trevor Megill to extend the Sox’s lead to 4-0.
