Johnny Cueto didn’t allow a run in his first two starts with the Chicago White Sox.
The Cubs got to him early Saturday with two runs in the first and didn’t look back, beating the Sox 5-1 in the City Series in front of a sellout crowd of 37,820 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
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Both first-inning runs came with two outs.
Patrick Wisdom’s bloop landed just out of the reach of Sox first baseman José Abreu in a shallow right field for an RBI double. Wisdom scored on a Frank Schwindel single.
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Nico Hoerner led off the second with a single, moved to third on a single by Rafael Ortega and scored when Andrelton Simmons grounded out to shortstop Tim Anderson.
The Sox tried to cut into the deficit in the bottom of the second when Yasmani Grandal attempted to score from second Jake Burger’s single to right. Ortega threw him out at the plate to end the inning.
Burger took matters into his own hands in the fifth with a solo home run to left, making it 3-1.
Adam Engel smoked a one-hopper that Simmons, the Cubs shortstop, couldn’t handle and turned it into a double. But Keegan Thompson got Anderson to ground out to third, and Josh Harrison to fly out to right to minimize the damage.
Thompson (5-0) allowed one run on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk while matching a career high with five innings in his third start of the season.
Wisdom and Schwindel helped the Cubs add runs in the seventh. Batting with the bases loaded, Wisdom hit a grounder deep in the hole between second and short. Anderson made a nice backhanded stop and threw to second for a force. Wisdom beat Harrison’s throw to first and a run scored.
Schwindel followed with an RBI single to right, stretching the lead to 5-1 and ending Cueto’s outing.
Cueto (0-1) — who entered Saturday with 12 consecutive scoreless innings since the Sox purchased his contract from Triple-A Charlotte on May 16 — allowed five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 6⅔ innings.
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The Sox came up empty in another scoring chance in the seventh. Burger and Engel had back-to-back singles with one out. But Rowan Wick got Anderson to ground into a double play.
The Sox went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring positon and fell one game under .500 at 22-23.
