CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Edgar Quero had his first four-hit game, rookie Chase Meidroth homered among his three hits, and the Chicago White Sox beat Shota Imanaga and the crosstown Cubs 12-5 on Friday night for their sixth win in seven games.
Colson Montgomery, Austin Slater and Mike Tauchman also went deep as the White Sox set season highs in runs and hits (18). Miguel Vargas also had three hits and Lenyn Sosa drove in three runs.
Adrian Houser (6-2) pitched 6 2/3 innings of five-hit ball as the White Sox handed the Cubs their fourth loss in five games.. Reese McGuire’s three-run homer off Houser with two outs in the seventh finally put the Cubs on the board after trailing 11-0.
The last-place White Sox gained a measure of revenge against the contending Cubs, who swept a three-game series at Wrigley Field in May while outscoring them 26-8. The Cubs remained one game behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Imanaga (7-4) exited after the first two White Sox batters hit safely in the fourth to give the South Siders a 6-0 lead with 12 hits against him. The left-hander from Japan was charged with seven runs, and his outing matched his shortest in two years in the majors.
Houser retired the first eight Cubs batters en route to winning his fourth straight decision.
Key moment
The White Sox jumped ahead 3-0 in the first as five of their first six batters hit safely, including Meidroth’s home run to lead off the inning. The White Sox added two in the second, with Montgomery tagging a center-cut fastball, followed by three singles. The South Siders upped it to 9-0 in the fourth on Tauchman’s drive.
Key stat
Imanaga has pitched fewer than four innings only once before in 43 games in the majors. He lasted three in an 11-1 loss to the Mets on June 21, 2024, when he allowed 10 runs and 11 hits.
Up next
Cubs RHP Cade Horton (3-3, 4.04 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Aaron Civale (2-6, 4.76) on Saturday.