Vargas has tiebreaking hit in 8th inning as White Sox rally to beat Blue Jays 4-2
TORONTO — Miguel Vargas hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Sunday.
Vargas had two hits and drove in a pair as the White Sox won a series for the first time since taking two of three against Kansas City from June 6-8.
Chicago had lost nine of 10 coming into Sunday's game. The White Sox snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 7-1 win Friday.
Bo Bichette's RBI single in the seventh gave Toronto a 2-1 lead but the Blue Jays' bullpen couldn't hold it. Left-hander Brendon Little (3-1) took the loss while closer Jeff Hoffman blew his fourth save opportunity in 21 chances.
Activated off the paternity list before the game, White Sox right-hander Adrian Houser allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Jordan Leasure (2-4) got two outs in the seventh and Brandon Eisert worked the eighth. Rookie Grant Taylor finished for his first career save.
With temperatures in Toronto hovering around 90 degrees and high humidity making it feel even warmer, the retractable roof at Rogers Centre was kept closed Sunday.
Hoffman came on in the eighth with two outs and runners at first and second. After walking Chase Meidroth to load the bases, Hoffman fumbled Andrew Benintendi's slow roller , allowing the tying run to score. Vargas followed with his two-run hit.
The White Sox won their second road series of the season. They took two of three at Cincinnati from May 13-15.
White Sox: RHP Shane Smith (3-4, 2.85 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday against Arizona LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-4, 5.93).
Blue Jays: LHP Eric Lauer (3-1, 2.29 ERA) is expected to start at Cleveland on Tuesday against LHP Logan Allen (5-4, 4.21 ERA).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Rays begin ‘exclusive discussions' to possibly sell team to group led by Florida developer
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly in the process of finding a new buyer for the team. A report by Sportico cited multiple unnamed sources that the Rays were negotiating a deal to sell the team to a group led by home developer and UF Board of Trustees member, Patrick Zalupski of Ponte Vedra Beach. Advertisement In a statement to WFLA News Channel 8, the Rays confirmed the negotiations. 'The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team. Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions.' Video above: What's next for St. Pete after Rays pull stadium deal? This came after the Rays' deal to build a new stadium at Tropicana Field and help redevelop the Gas Plant District fell through due to the damage caused by Hurricane Milton. During the hurricane, the current stadium's roof was torn by high-speed winds that left devastation on the Rays' home base. Advertisement As a result, the Rays moved to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa to play during the 2025 season. According to St. Petersburg and county spokespeople, the Rays did not speak to them about the sale. 'It definitely appears that if the sale goes through that the Rays will be in Tampa Bay for the long term,' said Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala. 'Today is definitely a good day for Rays fans.' Latvala admits to being critical of the current Rays ownership because of how Latvala said they conducted themselves after the hurricane and who they blamed and what they were trying to get after the hurricane. He says it's all in the past now. Advertisement 'But I think also there should be credit to Mr. Sternberg for, you know, if he goes through with the sale, and selling the team to folks that will keep it in Tampa Bay,' Latvala said. Fans at Steinbrenner Field Wednesday said they don't want to see the team leave the area. 'The best move is to build a new stadium in Tampa where we feel like people will come,' said Dori Simpson, a Rays fan. Latvala said he would be open to revising a stadium deal with new owners. 'I think it's really up to the new owners where they want the stadium,' Latvala said. 'From what I've heard, it's probably on the Tampa side. I don't want to speak for them.' Advertisement He said he would ask whoever became the new owners to care about the Tampa Bay community. This is a developing story. Stay up to date on the latest from News Channel 8 on-air and on the go with the free WFLA News Channel 8 mobile app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Red Sox takeaways: Sloppy defense returns in wasted opportunity; Hunter Dobbins to IL
SAN FRANCISCO – A quiet visitors clubhouse, players scrolling on their phones at their lockers, spoke volumes about a missed opportunity Sunday. The Boston Red Sox stormed into San Francisco Friday night, the weight of the Rafael Devers trade five days prior looming large with the longtime slugger in the opposing dugout. Advertisement That night, Boston's offense scored its most runs in a game since Devers' departure, holding Devers hitless in return. But the opener proved the lone highlight of the weekend in an otherwise frustrating series for the Red Sox, one that culminated in a rough 9-5 loss to San Francisco on Sunday. Manager Alex Cora and outfielder Jarren Duran were ejected in the eighth when Duran was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. The sloppy play that has characterized much of the season for the Red Sox had dissipated of late, but reared its head again Sunday. Two key errors led to five unearned runs on the day. It marked the second time this year the Red Sox had allowed five or more unearned runs in a game, with six unearned runs on April 11 in Chicago their worst. 'We've got to play better defense,' Cora said. 'The whole weekend was kind of sloppy in that department.' The Red Sox entered Sunday having won eight of their past 10 games with a chance to win their fifth straight series. They'd carried a business-as-usual approach since the massive trade that shocked the baseball world exactly one week ago. But after three games, they walked away with just one win, slouching back to 40-39. Against one of the league's best lefty starters in Robbie Ray, the Red Sox battled early, knocking him out after five innings and taking advantage of the Giants' own mistakes. But as they have too often this season, they let it slip away. The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the third when Duran and Nate Eaton, starting his first game for the Red Sox since being added to the roster following the Devers trade, converged in shallow left field and let a fly ball drop between them. 'It was just loud, I was calling for it, I don't think he heard me,' Duran said. 'He's a freak athlete. He got all the way out there, too. So it was just one of those things we haven't played together a lot.' Advertisement In the seventh, after the Red Sox had pulled ahead 5-4 on a Ceddanne Rafaela solo homer, Romy Gonzalez, starting just his second game at second base, dropped a routine line drive that allowed the go-ahead run to score. The Giants put up four runs in the inning. 'We're major leaguers, that play has to be made 100 out of 100 times,' Gonzalez said. David Hamilton, a stronger defender, sat Sunday with the left-hander Ray on the mound and Gonzalez's 1.020 OPS against lefties, needed in the lineup. Hamilton, meanwhile, had also made two miscues over the weekend at second. Gonzalez hit a solo homer off Ray in the fifth, but his error in the seventh let the game unravel. It highlighted the strains of an imperfect roster with many moving parts. Boston's baserunning mistakes returned Sunday, too. In the eighth, Duran led off with a shot down the right-field line and slid into second base, but came off the back for a millisecond and was tagged out. The play went under review, but the call stood. Duran argued and was thrown out. Cora charged out and was subsequently tossed too. Alex Cora doubles down on the call that Jarren Duran was ruled out on 🎙️ "He [was] safe. Clearly." — NESN (@NESN) June 22, 2025 Cora said he was more frustrated about a play earlier in the game when Abraham Toro was called out at home after a Rafaela double. As the ball came to the plate, Toro tried to jump around catcher Patrick Bailey and was called out for being out of the base path. 'My whole frustration at the end was more at that (Toro play) and obviously the first game, the check swings and all that,' Cora said. 'It is what it is. I hate to get thrown out, I hate it, but obviously I have to defend my player.' Cora insisted it was one sloppy series in the midst of a good stretch, but the Red Sox have lost their benefit of the doubt and need to keep proving they can play cleaner baseball more consistently. Advertisement More takeaways and notes from the weekend as the Red Sox head to Anaheim for three more games: Another day, another rotation injury. Sunday, the Red Sox placed right-hander Hunter Dobbins on the injury list with a right elbow strain. The team recalled right-hander Richard Fitts. Following Dobbins' start Friday against the Giants, in which he allowed five runs, four earned in four innings of work, Dobbins said he noticed a velocity drop to the low 90s. 'Nothing really felt right,' he said Friday. 'It kind of gets in your head when you look up at the velo board when you see 91 when you're expecting 96, so I'm going to see if it was something mechanical. 'You notice it, you kind of feel it, that kind of was the feeling I had,' he said. 'I knew I could generate it because it showed up a few times.' Cora said after the game that Dobbins played catch just before Sunday's game and felt slightly better, but the team opted to not push him in his next start. Fitts is expected to start in Dobbins' place Wednesday. Dobbins bounced back and forth between the Red Sox and Triple A Worcester over the first month of the season, first making a spot start for an injured Fitts (pectoral strain) and then entering the rotation more permanently when Walker Buehler landed on the IL with shoulder bursitis in early May. In 12 games, 10 starts, Dobbins posted a 4.10 ERA. Fitts started three games for the Red Sox at the start of the season, posting a 3.18 ERA, before missing six weeks with a pectoral strain then being optioned to Triple A Worcester. Over the weekend, Cora also revealed right-hander Kutter Crawford, who made 30 starts last year for Boston but has yet to make a start this season, had another setback while rebabbing in Fort Myers, Fla. Crawford began the year on the injury list with a right knee injury but over the course of the spring developed a wrist injury. He's flying back to Boston and will have tests on Monday. Advertisement 'The knee and the wrist, kind of like he wasn't able to generate velocity,' Crawford said. 'So that's a concern, a concern for him too, if he's trying to push something, then his shoulder comes into play. So shut him down. He'll be in Boston in the upcoming days, and we'll know more next week.' Tanner Houck, who's been on the IL with a flexor pronator strain since mid May, is set for a second rehab start Tuesday with Worcester. In addition to Crawford, Houck, Fitts, Dobbins and Buehler, the Red Sox also had starters Brayan Bello (shoulder strain) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring) miss time this season on the IL. When the Red Sox optioned Campbell to Worcester on Friday, they did so with the intention of helping him slow things down. Cora noted the purpose is not for Campbell to head back to Triple A and hit .500, but to work on fundamentals and on doing less. With that in mind as the WooSox head on a road trip to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this week, the Red Sox are keeping Campbell behind in Worcester to get in extra work with the team's development staff, including director of hitting Jason Ochart, hitting coordinator John Soteropulos and field coordinator Andrew Wright. 'Be aggressive early in counts, recognize the fastballs, the different types of them,' Cora said of what Campbell will work on. 'We all know what he struggled with. So give him a little bit of a reset and then walk him through what we want. So that's the thought process. But he needs to play. I think at the end of the day, you gain experience playing nine innings and going through every situation.' The plan is for Campbell to rejoin the WooSox in Scranton on Thursday or Friday. In 67 games, the 23-year-old Campbell won Rookie of the Month in April, but hit just .159 with a .465 OPS after May 1. Advertisement Reliever Jordan Hicks, acquired as part of the Devers trade, began a rehab assignment with Worcester on Sunday following a toe injury in early June. Hicks had a rocky first rehab outing, allowing a single, a two-run homer, a single and a walk. He got two outs, but was lifted after 23 pitches, 10 strikes. Cora suggested Hicks might be ready to join the Red Sox during their next homestand that begins Friday, but also noted they won't rush him since he hasn't pitched in three weeks. Hicks had started and relieved this year for San Francisco, but the Red Sox will use him out of the bullpen.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Astros re-sign Jon Singleton to minor-league deal: Source
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros are reuniting with first baseman and former top prospect Jon Singleton, who will return to the organization on a minor-league deal, a league source told The Athletic on Sunday. Singleton became a free agent last week after the New York Mets released him from the minor-league deal he signed in April. Houston released Singleton in March after he failed to make the team's Opening Day roster. Advertisement Last season, Singleton transformed into the Astros' everyday first baseman following the release of struggling veteran José Abreu. Singleton slashed .234/.321/.386 across the 405 plate appearances he took, posting a 101 OPS+ that provided some stability to a position with little of it. Signing Christian Walker this winter eliminated any possibility for Singleton to reprise his role as a regular. General manager Dana Brown's decision to carry prospects Zach Dezenzo and Cam Smith on the Opening Day roster squeezed Singleton out of a spot on the roster altogether. Including both Smith and Dezenzo on the Opening Day roster left Houston's roster without any balance — a problem the club is still confronting. The Astros opened the season with one true left-handed hitter on their roster: slugger Yordan Alvarez. Backup catcher Victor Caratini is a switch hitter. Alvarez fractured his right hand in May, magnifying the curious roster construction. Even with a healthy Alvarez, Houston's lack of balance became a growing problem. No lineup in the sport has fewer at-bats from left-handed hitters than the 306 Houston's have taken. As a result, no team has fewer at-bats against left-handed pitching than the Astros. Opposing managers have reconfigured their starting rotations and altered bullpen plans to avoid throwing left-handed pitchers against a lineup that cannot create a platoon advantage. Re-signing Singleton is not a panacea, but it will provide a left-handed option within an otherwise depleted farm system. Injuries to Dezenzo, Alvarez, Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton have exposed the organization's lack of position player depth at the upper minor leagues, an area Singleton can perhaps help to address. That Walker has had a wretched start to his season can't be overlooked, but he is in no danger of losing his everyday role. Advertisement On Sunday, Brown told the team's pregame radio show that adding a left-handed bat 'is the big thing for us' before next month's trade deadline. Bringing Singleton back should not change that approach, but does offer insurance in case asking prices are too high or owner Jim Crane instructs the club to remain under the luxury tax. Singleton slashed .213/.353/.448 across 55 games with the Mets' Triple-A team in Syracuse. The burly 33-year-old slugger, beloved for his brilliant bat flips, rose to prominence last decade as a top prospect in Houston's system. In 2014, the Astros signed Singleton to a five-year, $10 million guaranteed contract before he ever appeared in a major-league game. He played in just 114 games across the life of the contract while incurring three separate drug suspensions. (Photo of Jon Singleton with the Astros in the 2024 wild-card series against the Tigers: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
