Ivan Nova continued his strong second half surge with eight scoreless innings, Tim Anderson was 4-for-4 with a walk, James McCann and Jose Abreu had three hits apiece and combined for five RBI, and the White Sox defeated the Tigers 8-1 Wednesday to win their second straight series on the road.
McCann doubled in a run in the first and Ryan Cordell hit a 450-foot home run in the second inning against Tigers left-hander Tyler Alexander, and the Sox (51-62) never looked back. They took three of four games from the lowly Tigers after taking two of three from the Phillies, completing a 5-2 road trip for a needed reversal after going 4-14 coming out of the All-Star break.
Nova owns a 0.64 ERA in his last four starts and is 3-2 with a 2.79 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break. His long outing welcome after the Sox split a day-night doubleheader with the Tigers Tuesday.
Nova struck out one and walked three, allowing five hits. He got three double play ground balls in the first five innings. Jimmy Cordero allowed one run in the ninth inning after Nova’s pitch count hit 107 (66 strikes).
The Sox banged out 15 hits.
Grand Marshall
At 29, right-hander Evan Marshall is not what you would call a piece of the Sox youth movement but the reliever who is enjoying his best season since his rookie year of 2014 with the Diamondbacks wants to do his share to move the rebuild to the next level.
“I guess it’s up to them, but I would love to come back here next season,” said Marshall, who’ll be eligible for arbitration after the next two seasons.
“You can tell that things are melding toward being a powerhouse in the AL Central,” Marshall said. “I would love to stick around for that and be here.”
Marshall owns a 2.23 ERA in 34 games. Eleven of his last 13 appearances have been scoreless.
He has battled his share of injures during his career, needing emergency surgery after he was struck in the head by a line drive in a AAA game in 2015 and was sidelined by elbow inflammation for much of last season with the Indians.
A Sox non-roster invitee to spring training, Marshall pitched well in Arizona, opened the season at Charlotte where he did not allow an earned run in nine appearances and had his contract purchased by the Sox on May 1.
“It’s really a great group of guys, Marshall said. “And the coaching staff puts us in position to succeed.”
One more rehab outing for Herrera
Right-hander Kelvin Herrera will throw an inning for Class AAA Charlotte Thursday, Renteria said, and is expected to join the Sox this weekend. Herrera pitched a perfect inning Tuesday, needing only seven pitches (six strikes) and striking out one.
Signed to a two-year deal that pays him $8.5 million in 2019 and 2020 with a club option for a third, Herrera has been a disappointment with a 7.36 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in 38 games covering 33 innings.
Buckle up
After taking three of four games from the 33-78 Tigers, the schedule gets tougher for the Sox, with a homestand against the Athletics and Astros, and a road trip against the Angels and Twins. After four games at home against the Rangers, the Sox host the Twins and then go on the road to play the Braves and Indians into the first week of September.
