Jays Beat White Sox 10-5
CHICAGO (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit two of Toronto's five home runs, Curtis Granderson led off the game with a homer and the Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 10-5 on Friday night.
Gurriel followed Granderson's blast by hitting the next pitch into the left-field seats. He added another solo shot in the fourth and a double in the eighth and had his ninth straight multi-hit game.
Randal Grichuk added a two-run homer and Kendrys Morales also connected for the Blue Jays, who began a season-high, 10-game road trip. The Blue Jays tagged White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez (4-9) for five home runs as they ended a three-game losing streak.
The five home runs allowed by Lopez were one short of a modern day record.
Granderson hit the second pitch of the game into the right-field seats for his 10th of the season. It was Granderson's 47th leadoff home run and second of the season.
Marcus Stroman (4-7) — who was also the starter when Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson last started a Blue Jays game with back-to-back homers in 2016 — pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits.
The White Sox fell 31 games below .500 as manager Rick Renteria and pitching coach Don Cooper were ejected in the first inning. Lopez allowed eight runs on seven hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He is 0-4 in his last four starts, allowing 21 earned runs in 21 1/3 innings.
After Morales walked, C.B. Bucknor ejected Cooper for apparently arguing balls and strikes, which prompted Renteria to leave the dugout and confront crew chief Fieldin Culbreth. Culbreth immediately tossed Rernteria for his fourth ejection of the season.
The onslaught continued against Lopez in the second inning, Grichuk hit his 14th homer of the season, a two-run shot to straightaway center, and Justin Smoak added an RBI double to make it 5-0.
Gurriel homered for seventh time this season with a solo shot off Lopez in the fourth inning. It was his first multihomer game. Morales homered off Lopez in the fifth for his 12th of the season and Russell Martin greeted White Sox reliever Thyago Vieira with an RBI double.
A bizarre sequence transpired later in the fifth involving Bucknor. With the bases loaded and Granderson up, Vieira's pitched bounced into home plate and briefly lodged between Bucknor's arm and body before he inadvertently closed his hand on the ball. Joe McEwing, who was acting as manager for the White Sox, argued that Martin could've been tagged out. However, after a conference, the umpires ruled correctly that all runners should advance one base on the dead ball, allowing Martin to score. Granderson later hit a sacrifice fly to make it 10-1.
Infielder Matt Davidson mopped up with Chicago's third straight loss by pitching a perfect ninth inning.
UP NEXT
With J.A. Happ being dealt to the Yankees on Thursday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is leaning toward a bullpen day on Saturday as opposed to calling up a starter from Triple-A. Gibbons indicated RHP Luis Santos or RHP John Axford could possibly start.
RHP Lucas Giolito (7-8) is scheduled to start for the White Sox on Saturday. He is 3-4 with a 7.53 ERA in 10 home starts this season.
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