Luis Robert Jr. hits RBI single in 9th to give White Sox 2-1 win over Marlins

Chicago White Sox's Luis Robert Jr., center, is greeted by teammates after he drove in the winning run off Miami Marlins relief pitcher Dylan Floro during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 9, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. hit an RBI single in the ninth inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Elvis Andrus singled leading against Dylan Floro (3-4) and took second on a wild pitch before Tim Anderson struck out. The Marlins intentionally walked Andrew Benintendi, and Robert drove the winning single past third baseman Jean Segura.

Dylan Cease threw six strong innings, and Liam Hendriks (2-0) worked a 1-2-3 ninth. Yasmani Grandal homered and had three hits, and the White Sox cooled off surging Miami with their sixth victory in seven games. The Marlins had won a season-high six in a row.

Cease gave up one run and four hits. The 2022 AL Cy Young Award runner-up struck out seven and walked two.

The White Sox opened the weekend series on a winning note after taking two of three from the Yankees in New York even though they were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

Miami’s Joey Wendle homered leading off the fifth.

Rookie Eury Pérez went five innings, allowing one run and five hits. The 20-year-old Dominican struck out six and walked two in his sixth major league start.

Chicago grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second when Grandal broke out of a 5-for-41 slump with a drive just beyond the right-field wall for his fifth homer.

Wendle tied it when he led off the fifth with his first homer this season, driving a 3-2 pitch beyond a leaping right fielder Gavin Sheets.

Cease got out of a second-and-third jam in the sixth. With one out, Tim Anderson nailed Bryan De La Cruz trying to score on Jesús Sánchez’s grounder, and second baseman Elvis Andrus ran down Yuli Gurriel’s foul pop.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: 1B Garrett Cooper was favoring his left arm after trying to catch 3B Jean Segura’s errant throw on Elvis Andrus’ leadoff single in the third. Andrus hit his arm. Cooper was checked by a trainer and remained in the game until Yuli Gurriel replaced him in the fifth. … OF-INF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (turf toe) is doing rehab work with the team. … RHP Johnny Cueto (right biceps tightness) is scheduled to pitch three innings for Double-A Pensacola on Sunday. … LHP Trevor Rogers (left biceps strain) was scheduled to pitch Friday for Triple-A Jacksonville.

White Sox: The White Sox expect OF Eloy Jiménez (lower left leg) to miss three to five games after he exited Thursday’s doubleheader nightcap against the Yankees in New York. Manager Pedro Grifol said he thinks Jiménez started to experience discomfort just below his calf in the opener and tweaked it in the second game before exiting in the ninth inning.

UP NEXT

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara (2-5, 5.07 ERA) looks to get on track for Miami, while Chicago RHP Michael Kopech (3-5, 4.33) tries to keep a run of solid starts going. He has a 2.72 ERA in his past seven outings.

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