ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jake Burger’s pinch homer in the eighth inning woke up a listless White Sox lineup and gave a team starving for a win a 3-2 victory Saturday afternoon.
After losing the first four games of a road trip that started in Toronto, the Sox evened their series with the Rays by scoring three runs in the eighth on pinch hitter Adam Engel’s bloop double, Danny Mendick’s single and Burger’s fifth homer of the season.
With reliever Kendall Graveman pitching, Mendick made a good play on Isaac Paredes’ ground ball with the bases loaded in the Rays’ eight, getting the out on a close play challenged by the Rays.
Dylan Cease walked seven over 4 2/3 innings and allowed two unearned runs, the result of an error by first baseman Jose Abreu in the fifth.
Drew Rasmussen pitched seven innings of scoreless ball for the Rays (31-22).
Liam Hendriks pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save.
The Sox (24-27) go for a series victory Sunday with Lucas Giolito pitching.
