CHICAGO — They struck out 13 times, including nine times in the first three innings alone, and finished with only four hits.
But the Chicago White Sox took advantage of the Cleveland Indians pitchers’ wildness Saturday, turning six of their eight walks into runs in a 7-3 win at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Starter Lance Lynn won in his return from the injured list, throwing five innings to improve to 2-1. Tim Anderson cranked his second career grand slam in the five-run second. Yasmani Grandal walked in all four at-bats and Michael Kopech threw three shutout innings.
The Sox won for the seventh time in their last nine games.
Indians starter Triston McKenzie struck out six Sox hitters in the first two innings. But he also walked four in the second, forcing home a run before serving up an opposite field grand slam to Anderson.
The Indians came back with a pair in the fourth on Yu Chang’s two-run single, but the Sox answered back with two more in the bottom of the inning on Leury García’s two-run double off Phil Maton.
Lynn (2-1) surrendered a solo home run to Austin Hedges in the fifth and was removed after the inning, having thrown 68 pitches. Kopech, who threw five shutout innings last Sunday in a spot start against the Texas Rangers, allowed one hit over his three-inning stint while striking out three.
Kopech has a 1.45 ERA in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2018, with 30 strikeouts in 18⅔ innings.
Aaron Bummer closed it out with a perfect ninth, and Sox will try to win the series Sunday in the finale of their homestand with Lucas Giolito on the mound.
