Chris Sale made one just mistake and Asdrubal Cabrera crushed it into the left-field seats.
Cabrera's two-run homer in the seventh inning lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to their second-ever sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.
The Rays were scuffling against Chicago's ace before Steven Souza Jr. drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. Souza, among the league leaders in strikeouts, was down 1-2 in the count and patiently took three pitches off the plate.
Sale compounded the walk by grooving a fastball that Cabrera didn't miss.
Cabrera's third home run of the season was enough to take the finale of the three-game series since Nathan Karns and three relievers limited the White Sox to a 1-for-9 effort with runners in scoring position.
That hit came in the second when Carlos Sanchez followed Gordon Beckham's double down the left-field line with an RBI single through the right side.
Karns pitched six innings, struck out eight and scattered seven hits, while C.J. Riefenhauser (1-0), Steve Geltz and Kevin Jepsen all pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Jepsen picked up his fifth save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Sale (6-3) was handed the hard-luck loss despite striking out 12 and allowing just three hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. He has at least 12 strikeouts in each of his last four starts, a feat that had not been accomplished since Pedro Martinez went four in a row with Boston in 2001.
[SportsNetwork.com]
