Central Plains FFA Chapter

08/02 15:47 CDT Kay pitches 6 scoreless, Benintendi, Vargas and Pereira homer as White Sox beat Rays 9-1 Kay pitches 6 scoreless, Benintendi, Vargas and Pereira homer as White Sox beat Rays 9-1 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) --- Anthony Kay tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Andrew Benintendi, Everson Pereira and Miguel Vargas hit home runs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays 9-1 on Sunday. The White Sox (58-52), who entered August in first place of the AL Central for the first time since 2021, hold a 3 1/2 game lead over the Minnesota Twins. Kay (8-5) fanned three batters and allowed seven hits while walking one. Duncan Davitt surrendered the lone run on his first pitch of the ninth. Benintendi scored the game's first run on a fielding error by Griffin Jax (6-9) in the first inning, and Colson Montgomery doubled the lead after Benintendi's advance to second allowed him to come across from third; the play was officially scored as a wild pitch by Jax. Benintendi launched his 12th homer of the year 378 feet over the right-center field wall in the fourth, and Pereira extended the lead with a two-run double in the sixth inning. Pereira tacked on his his fourth home run of the year in the ninth before Vargas sealed the game with a 413-footer to the left-field seats at Tropicana Field. In five innings, Jax allowed three runs on four hits while striking out eight. Ben Williamson scored the Rays' only run with a solo homer to left field. During the game, the Rays acquired starting pitcher and two-time All Star Freddy Peralta for three prospects in a trade with the New York Mets. Peralta carries a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts --- the second-worst ERA among all qualified pitchers in the MLB this season.

Up next Rays LHP Ian Seymour (7-3, 4.37 ERA) gets the start for a series opener against Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.54) on Monday. The White Sox continue their six-game road trip at Fenway Park to face the Red Sox. Neither teams have announced a starter for Tuesday's game. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb