PHOENIX — Eugenio Suárez homered, Ryne Nelson pitched six solid innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1 on Friday night for their fourth victory in five games and ninth in 13.
Nelson (4-5) allowed six hits, walked one and struck out eight. He threw 95 pitches.
Suárez, who entered the game batting .195 and has seen his playing time decrease, connected to left-center off Chris Flexen for his sixth of the season to begin the fourth inning.
Flexen (2-6) was pulled later in the inning, having allowed nine hits and six runs — four earned — while walking two and striking out two.
Joc Pederson hit a towering home run leading off the seventh against Michael Soroka. It was Pederson’s ninth homer of the season and second in two nights — he hit a grand slam Thursday night in a victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Chicago, after a win Thursday in Seattle, went back to its losing ways. The White Sox have lost five of six and 23 of their last 27. They’re 6-30 on the road and, at 18-53 (.253), are off to the worst start in franchise history.
Chicago took the lead in the second on Nicky Lopez’s RBI single, but the offense fizzled after that. Arizona came back with two in its half of the second on Tucker Barnhart’s two-run single.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled home a run in the third and Corbin Carroll and Pederson had RBIs in the fourth.
The White Sox did not hit any home runs, snapping their streak of 14 games with a homer, which was tied for the longest in the majors this season.
ALL IN THE PHAM
The White Sox activated OF Tommy Pham from a rehab assignment. He had been out since June 2 with a sprained left ankle. Chicago also called up RHP Chad Kuhl from Triple-A Charlotte.
Pham, batting .280 with three home runs for the White Sox this season, finished last season with the Diamondbacks after being acquired from the New York Mets. He hit six homers in 50 games for Arizona and hit .279 with three homers in 16 postseason games as Arizona advanced all the way to the World Series.
Pham went 1 for 4 on Friday, leading off the game with a single.
Before Friday’s game, Pham received his National League championship ring from Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo.
“We couldn’t have done it without him,” Lovullo said before the game. “I’m a huge fan.”
Kuhl, a seven-year veteran, previously pitched for Pittsburgh, Colorado and Washington. He was 0-4 with an 8.45 ERA in 16 games with the Nationals last season.
To make room, the White Sox optioned OF Zach DeLoach and RHP Jordan Leasure to Charlotte.
NEXT
RHP Erick Fedde (4-1, 3.10) was set to start Saturday for the White Sox. The Diamondbacks had not announced a starter.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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