CHICAGO (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger each homered, Touki Toussaint pitched five innings for his first win and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 on Friday night to snap a six-game losing streak.
Chicago’s victory came on the tail end of a day in which it dealt pitchers Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman to continue a deadline selling spree.
“It’s tough seeing some teammates you’ve had for many years leave and go to a different team,” Burger said. “But we love the group we have here and can just take it a day at a time and try to go out there and leave it all on the field and not think about anything else.”
Toussaint (1-3) allowed just three hits, walked one and struck out four. Tanner Banks pitched three innings of two-hit ball and Gregory Santos notched his second save of the year.
“He’s been really consistent,” manager Pedro Grifol said of Toussaint. “He’s pounding the strike zone. He looks like a big leaguer out there. … I’m happy he’s here. I’m happy we can take a look at him for two months and possibly build with him.”
Robert hit his 29th homer off Xzavion Curry (3-1) to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in the first. After hitting two homers on Thursday, Burger continued his hot stretch with his 25th homer off Daniel Norris in the sixth, giving the White Sox a 2-0 advantage.
“It’s kind of what I said when I hit my 20th,” Burger said. “It’s a stepping stone to the next goal. Obviously it feels good, but now I want to get to the next milestone.”
Elvis Andrus, pinch running for Eloy Jiménez, scored from third on a single by Oscar Colás to make it 3-0 in the eighth.
Josh Naylor had a double and two singles, accounting for half the Guardians’ six hits.
Cleveland’s Terry Francona remained one win away from passing Hall of Famer Casey Stengel for the 13th-most wins by a manager in MLB history.
Hours before first pitch, the White Sox dealt right-handers Lynn and Kelly to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a package that sent OF Trayce Thompson and minor league pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure to Chicago.
The White Sox also traded right-handed reliever Graveman to the Houston Astros for minor league C Korey Lee, and called up RHP Declan Cronin from Triple-A Charlotte.
After his latest pair of trades, GM Rick Hahn could sell more before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
“We still have players of interest to other clubs and we’re still having talks,” Hahn said. “I don’t even know what day it is, but it seems like there’s a few days left until the deadline, until we get to Tuesday. So, we’re going to continue talking, and if there’s something that makes sense, we’ll pull the trigger.”
White Sox: INF Andrew Vaughn (bone bruise) missed a second consecutive game, but manager Pedro Grifol said he expects him back in the lineup on Saturday. … 3B Yoan Moncada (back) took a day off after playing in three straight games since returning from the IL on Tuesday. He’ll play on Saturday, Grifol said. … The newly acquired Thompson (oblique) is “close to returning” from the 60-day IL, Hahn said.
Guardians: INF Tyler Freeman (shoulder) returned to the lineup in the eighth after missing Thursday’s contest.
In the third meeting of the four-game series, LHP Logan Allen (4-3, 3.39 ERA) gets the nod for the Guardians. The White Sox have yet to determine a starter amid a deadline shakeup in their rotation.