June 15--The summary
Chris Sale allowed one hit through the first six innings against the Rays on Sunday at Tropicana Field, but the second gave the Rays the victory. After a leadoff walk to Steven Souza Jr. starting the seventh, Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run homer pushed the Rays to a 2-1 win for a three-game series sweep.
At the plate
Gordon Beckham doubled and scored on Carlos Sanchez's RBI single in the second.
On the mound
Sale gave up two earned runs on three hits, walked three and struck out 12 over 62/3 innings. He threw 125 pitches.
Missed opportunities
The Sox had a runner in scoring position in each of the first six innings against Rays right-hander Nathan Karns but went 1-for-9 for the game with runners in scoring position.
Key number
4 -- Consecutive starts in which Sale has recorded 12 or more strikeouts. He joins Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to go on such a run since 1914.
The quote
"It was phenomenal. Watching him pitch today was awesome. ... The letdown is really not getting him some runs." -- Sox acting manager Mark Parent on Sale
The quote II
"(The walk) is the killer. Guys are going to hit home runs. You can't control that. What I can control is giving guys free passes. I did that quite a few times." -- Sale
Up next
At Pirates, 6:05 p.m. Monday, CSN.
