Chicago: Chris Sale went the distance on a masterful four-hitter, becoming the first major league pitcher since 2008 to win his first nine starts, as the Chicago White Sox snapped their season-high four game losing streak by beating Houston 2-1 on Thursday night.
Sale walked none and struck out a season-high nine en route to his second straight complete game. No other pitcher has more than seven victories in the big leagues this season.
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb had been the last to post a 9-0 record in his first nine starts. The last White Sox pitcher to accomplish the feat was Eddie Cicotte in 1919, when he won 12 in a row.
Houston broke the shutout bid in the eighth, when Evan Gattis clubbed Sale’s first pitch for a home run.
Sale lowered his earned run average to 1.58, second to teammate Jose Quintana (1.54) in the American League. He retired the first five batters, allowed a single to Gattis in the second inning then mowed down the next 12 before Jose Altuve singled in the sixth.
