Calhoun hits 3-Run Home Run, Rangers fall 8-3 to White Sox

CHICAGO (AP) – Dylan Cease settled down after a tough start, Yoán Moncada hit a two-run homer for the second straight night and the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Friday.

Adam Engel added two RBIs as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Tim Anderson and Leury García each had two hits and drove in a run.

Cease (3-6) gave up three-run shot to Willie Calhoun in the first, but the 23-year-old right-hander set a career high with nine strikeouts in six innings. He allowed four hits and walked one in his ninth start since being recalled from Triple-A on July 3.

Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer and Alex Colomé combined for three hitless innings in relief of Cease.

Moncada also doubled for the second straight game after returning Thursday from a right hamstring strain.

Texas right-hander Lance Lynn (14-9) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out 10 while dropping his third straight decision.

Cease struck out the side in the first, but also gave up Calhoun’s 14th homer, a deep drive to right on a 2-1 pitch. The rookie has allowed at least one homer in each of his nine starts and 11 overall.

Chicago rallied in the second. After Lynn walked Matt Skole and Yolmer Sánchez with two out, Engel drove a two-run double to the left-field corner.

Chris Woodward credits the White Sox for their play, but he also knows the @Rangers need to be better defensively with 2 outs to keep teams from nights like this.#TogetherWe pic.twitter.com/qP2Wwrtnx9

— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) August 24, 2019

The White Sox opened a 5-3 lead in the fourth. Sánchez and Anderson had RBI singles and García drove in a run with a double.

José Abreu’s RBI double to the center-field wall in the sixth made it 6-3. Moncada then greeted Shawn Kelley with his 22th homer.

ELVIS CLIMBS

Elvis Andrus singled in the first to give him 1,693 hits with Texas, moving him ahead of Rafael Palmeiro and into third on the franchise’s career hits list. Michael Young (2,230) is first, followed by Ivan Rodriguez (1,747).

HEARTY COMEBACK

Texas right-hander Luke Farrell was activated from the 60-day injured list and pitched a perfect seventh and eighth inning. He had been out since he was hit in the face by line drive in spring training.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: INF Danny Santana was back in the lineup at first base after sitting out Thursday with a sore left hamstring.

White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez (right hip flexor soreness) didn’t start for a second straight game. Manager Rick Renteria said Jiménez was available to pinch-hit and he thinks the rookie slugger could return to the lineup Saturday.

UP NEXT

Rangers left-hander Kolby Allard (1-0, 6.00 ERA) faces White Sox right-hander Iván Nova (9-9, 4.47 ERA) on Saturday. Nova is 5-0 in his last six starts, posting a 0.85 ERA in the span. Allard makes his fourth start for Texas since being acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline.