PITTSBURGH — The Chicago White Sox didn’t have a hit until Luis Robert Jr. reached on an infield single with one out in the fifth inning Saturday night.
It wasn’t long before the offense got on a roll.
The Sox scored twice in the inning and six more times in the sixth, rallying to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 38,041 at PNC Park.
Mike Tauchman had the big hit in the sixth, breaking a tie with a two-out, three-run double.
In a flash, the Sox went from being hitless and trailing by three to taking a four-run lead on the way to a second straight blowout win.
“Today I thought it was about competing,” manager Will Venable said. “Our guys did a great job after a tough first four innings. (Pirates starter Mike) Burrows doing a great job and making it tough on us. Had everything working. Our guys just competed and just really proud of the effort. It paid off and we got some results.”
The Sox fell into an early hole when the Pirates scored three in the fourth against starter Adrian Houser, who said he “just wasn’t executing as well” as he would have liked in big spots. Houser allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits with five strikeouts and one walk in 4 1/3 innings.
“Just wasn’t able to get the pitches where I wanted to get them in certain situations,” Houser said. “They were able to put some good swings on it and find the holes. Just have to get a little bit of better execution, probably just a little hyped up being (my) first (start) out of the chute.”
The hitters picked him up.
Robert reached with one out in the fifth, legging out the infield single and taking second on a wild throw.
“We knew if we got a hit and got something going some more were going to come,” Venable said. “Fortunate to get that one and that’s what it takes to get started.”
Robert stole third and scored on Lenyn Sosa’s two-out single.
Josh Rojas then hit a grounder just inside the first-base line. The ball kicked off the wall near the foul line, allowing Sosa to score from first to bring the Sox within 3-2.
The Pirates responded with a run in the fifth. And then came the monster sixth for the Sox.
Miguel Vargas began the rally with a one-out double against reliever Caleb Ferguson. Kyle Teel reached on an infield single. Robert drove in Vargas with a single. Teel scored the tying run on pinch hitter Austin Slater’s single.
The Sox loaded the bases with two outs for Tauchman. He fell behind 0-2 against Isaac Mattson, then drilled a slider out of the reach of center fielder Oneil Cruz for a bases-clearing double. Chase Meidroth followed with an RBI single, making it 8-4.
“Got down 0-2 on a couple of good pitches, so at that point you’re kind of battling,” Tauchman said. “Got a slider that caught a little too much plate, just getting it outside the reach of Oneil Cruz — he’s really moving out there — and fortunately found some grass. Chase came up and had another big hit. It was a great inning for the boys.”
The six runs matched a season high for an inning for the Sox. They also scored six in the sixth inning on May 24 against the Texas Rangers.
Sosa had a two-run single in the seventh to help the Sox reach double digits in scoring for the second straight game. They pummeled the Pirates 10-1 on Friday.
It’s the first time the Sox have scored at least 10 runs in consecutive contests since Aug. 26-27, 2021, according to the club. The Sox beat the Blue Jays 10-7 on Aug. 26 in Toronto and then topped the Chicago Cubs 17-13 the next night at home.
It’s the first time the Sox accomplished the feat against the same team since April 24-25, 2017, against the Kansas City Royals. They scored 12 runs on April 24 and 10 runs the next night.
“Just pass the baton,” Tauchman said of the approach. “You get a couple days (during the All-Star break) to reset. I take it every year to check in, see where you’re at and make those little adjustments. Sometimes you just need a mental blow. I think the focus has been really good, the intensity has been really good and we’ve been doing a great job of picking each other up, getting big hits with guys on base, that’s what it’s about.
“Keep moving the line, it’s been really good and we want to keep it going.”