CHICAGO _ Eloy Jimenez just missed hitting a home run on the second pitch of his fourth-inning at-bat Sunday against Kyle Hendricks, pulling the ball foul down the left-field line.
The White Sox rookie slugger left no doubt four pitches later, crushing a two-run homer to center.
Jimenez haunted his former organization for the second time this season as Sox defeated the Cubs 3-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 38,554 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Jose Abreu also homered as the Sox entered the All-Star break on a positive note.
The Sox and Cubs split the two-game weekend series and the four-game season series. Jimenez delivered the big hit in both Sox wins.
Jimenez was traded to the Sox from the Cubs in a deal that also included recently promoted pitcher Dylan Cease for pitcher Jose Quintana on July 13, 2017.
Jimenez hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning on June 18 in his first game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Ivan Nova pitched five innings in that game, limiting the Cubs to one run on four hits.
Nova was on the mound again Sunday. And he was even more effective, allowing five hits and striking out four in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Nova began Sunday with the third-highest ERA in all of baseball.
He worked around trouble in the third and fourth innings.
The Cubs began the third with a double by Albert Almora Jr. They did not score. The Cubs began the fourth with a double by Anthony Rizzo. Again, they did not score.
Jimenez gave the Sox the 2-0 lead with the homer in the fourth, his 16th of the season. It went an estimated 438 feet.
Hendricks allowed the two runs on four hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked two in his second start since returning from the injured list.
Abreu made it 3-0 with his 21st homer of the season in the fifth off of Brad Brach.
The Cubs had runners on second and third with two outs in the sixth, but reliever Jace Fry got Jason Heyward to ground out to second to end the inning. The Cubs went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Robel Garcia hit a solo homer in the seventh off Aaron Bummer to make it 3-1. Bummer pitched a scoreless eighth and Alex Colome did likewise in the ninth for his 20th save in 21 chances.
