Drew Thorpe allowed a single to Colorado Rockies designated hitter Brenton Doyle to begin Friday’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Chicago White Sox rookie starter didn’t allow another baserunner until he walked Sam Hilliard with one out in the sixth. Doyle followed with a two-run home run.
Just as quickly as the Sox lost the lead, they regained it during a four-run sixth on the way to a soggy 5-3 victory in front of 24,422.
Eloy Jiménez scored the go-ahead run when catcher Korey Lee grounded out to first. Tommy Pham added a two-run single.
“One thing we did really well was we answered,” manager Pedro Grifol said of the rally.
The Sox (23-61) won consecutive games for the first time since June 7-8 against the Boston Red Sox.
And Thorpe continued to show his ability to bounce back, allowing two runs on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
“Me and Korey worked really well together, mixing speeds, getting in on guys,” Thorpe said. “Command was good overall, I was able to move the ball around.”
The right-hander had an impressive major-league debut, allowing one earned run on three hits in five innings on June 11 at Seattle. He struggled in his second outing on June 16, allowing seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
Thorpe rebounded on June 22, earning his first major-league victory while allowing two hits in six scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Friday marked his first home start, and he got into a groove after allowing the leadoff single to Doyle following a 2-hour, 9-minute rain delay.
“Once you get there, then you’re kind of rolling and continue to just keep making pitches and it’s easy once you stack a couple in a row and continue to keep building on that,” Thorpe said.
Thorpe fanned four of five batters at one point, including striking out the side in the third. He received nice defense in the fifth when third baseman Lenyn Sosa made a catch in foul territory near the tarp.
Thorpe also showed his composure after surrendering the home run by retiring the next two batters on groundouts.
“These guys understand what being a starter is all about — you don’t only have to have short-term memory in between starts, you’ve got to have short-term memory in between innings and hitters,” Grifol said. “You give up a home run, OK, flush that thing. We’ve got to get outs right here.
“One thing I like about him, he showed a little bit of emotion when he came in, he was a little pissed off he gave up that home run. We’re starting to see who he really is and how he is, how he reacts to some of this stuff. He’s a winner and he’s got the makings of being a pretty good starter here for a long time.”
Doyle’s home run put the Rockies ahead 2-1. Luis Robert Jr. began the bottom of the sixth with a double. Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn followed with walks. Paul DeJong drove in a run with a single. And with one out, Lee hit a grounder to first. Michael Toglia might have had a play at the plate but opted for the sure out at first, and Jiménez scored to give the Sox a 3-2 lead.
The Rockies intentionally walked pinch hitter Gavin Sheets, loading the bases. Pham followed with his two-run single to right against reliever Justin Lawrence, extending the lead to 5-2.
“Just grinding out at-bats,” Pham said of the team’s approach in the inning. “Taking what the pitcher gives you. (Rockies starter Dakota Hudson) fell behind, he was a little erratic. We were taking the free passes there and then the big hits. You’ve got to take what the game gives you.”
Relievers Tanner Banks, John Brebbia and Michael Kopech combined to give up one hit in the final three innings to aid in Thorpe’s second straight win.
“I had two good ones in a row,” Thorpe said, “so just continue off of that and get ready for the next one.”