James Paxton leads the way as the Dodgers shut out the lowly White Sox 3-0
By JAY COHEN
AP Baseball Writer
CHICAGO (AP) — James Paxton combined with four relievers on a five-hitter, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-0 on Monday night.
Los Angeles was shut down by Garrett Crochet, but it got to Chicago’s shaky bullpen for three runs. The NL West leaders won for the sixth time in eight games.
Paxton struck out six while working five innings of three-hit ball. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA over his last three starts.
“The curveball was good tonight. Got some swing and miss with that,” Paxton said, “and we were able to take the fastball up in the zone where we wanted it. Got some outs there, too.”
Daniel Hudson (4-1), Yohan Ramírez and Evan Phillips each got three outs before Alex Vesia handled the ninth for his fourth save in five chances.
Chicago had a runner on second in the eighth when Paul DeJong flied out to the wall in center, ending the inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he planned to use Blake Treinen in the seventh, but he had to adjust after a 30-minute rain delay.
“The entire pitching staff tonight did a great job,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers played without outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who flew home to the Dominican Republic for a personal reason. Hernández is expected to rejoin the team on Tuesday, but Roberts said he planned to give him another day off.
Los Angeles slugger Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 3 with a walk and a ninth-inning sacrifice fly. He has 14 RBIs in his last eight games.
The White Sox lost for the fifth time in six games. At 21-59, they are off to the worst 80-game start in franchise history. They have scored one or fewer runs in 23 games, including 11 shutouts.
Crochet was terrific once again, allowing five hits — all singles — in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked none, throwing 60 of his 91 pitches for strikes.
“For the most part I felt like I was throwing non-competitive pitches early and it kind of led to my pitch count getting up there,” Crochet said. “I felt like I was commanding my stuff pretty well. I mixed in more sliders and changeups than I probably have in the past three outings so it was good. Having the whole mix rolling.”
The 25-year-old Crochet is 5-2 with a 1.53 ERA in his last 11 starts. He could be a potential target for the Dodgers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
Steven Wilson (1-5) got the final out of the sixth for Chicago, but Miguel Rojas hit a leadoff double in the seventh for Los Angeles. Rojas advanced on a groundout and scored on Kiké Hernández’s double.
DeJong then committed a throwing error on Chris Taylor’s grounder to shortstop, and Hernández scampered home for a 2-0 lead.
“We had to do it against somebody,” Hernández said. “We didn’t do it against Crochet. We were able to get to Wilson there.”
The Dodgers improved to 23-0 this season when Rojas gets at least one hit. He went 2 for 4.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw has been shut down for a week after experiencing lingering soreness in his comeback from shoulder surgery. Kershaw, 36, had an MRI that “showed no new incidents,” Roberts said.
White Sox: DH Eloy Jiménez went 1 for 4 in his second game since returning from a left hamstring injury. It looked as if Jiménez was experiencing some discomfort while running the bases during the seventh inning of Sunday’s 11-2 loss at Detroit, but he didn’t appear to have any issues against LA. “Every report I got today was that he was feeling pretty good,” manager Pedro Grifol said before Monday’s loss. “And yesterday, I think he said on turns that it might have bothered him a little bit but on straightaways he felt good.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller (1-1, 6.00 ERA) pitches on Tuesday night in his second start since returning from shoulder inflammation. Miller permitted five runs in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision at Colorado on Wednesday night. Chris Flexen (2-6, 5.03 ERA) takes the mound for the White Sox.
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