Giolito gets help in pitching White Sox past Cubs 4-3

CHICAGO -- — Lucas Giolito struck out 10, Luis Robert made a game-saving catch and Matt Foster worked out of a major jam Wednesday night as the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 at Wrigley Field.

José Abreu and Leury García homered for the White Sox, who overcame an early 3-1 deficit.

Giolito (1-1) reached double digits in strikeouts for the 14th time since joining the White Sox in 2017. He allowed three hits in 5 2/3 innings, including home runs by Nico Hoerner and Patrick Wisdom in the second.

After issuing a walk to Ian Happ, the right-hander was pulled in favor of Reynaldo Lopez.

Willson Contreras ripped a drive to deep center field, where Robert sprinted to make the grab before his left shoulder crashed into the brick wall. Robert laid on the warning track for several seconds before trotting off the field under his own power.

“Well, he’s strong, but he’s not as strong as that brick wall out there,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “He kept saying he’s OK. He hit himself pretty hard.”

The Cubs, held to three hits through seven innings, put the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base with no outs in the eighth. Foster relieved Aaron Bummer and retired the next three batters, punctuated by a called third strike on Happ.

Liam Hendricks pitched the ninth for his seventh save.

“That’s the kind of win that makes us feel good, especially coming off of last night,” Giolito said. “That was a big one, and this one — trending in the right direction. Unbelievable effort from everybody.”

The White Sox (11-13) swept the two-game series against their intercity rivals and stretched their winning streak to three. The Cubs (10-14) lost for the fifth time in six games.

Abreu staked the White Sox to a 1-0 lead with his third homer in the first inning off Kyle Hendricks (1-3). Abreu’s homer was his 12th in 38 games against the Cubs, and he improved his career batting average against Hendricks to .600 (15 for 25) with two home runs and six RBI.

The White Sox beat the Cubs’ shift to score the tying and go-ahead runs. Gavin Sheets poked a single through a wide gap on the left side to score Robert in the fourth, and AJ Pollock hit a bloop single to shallow right field that eluded second baseman Nick Madrigal to score Abreu in the sixth.

Pollock was 3 for 34 since returning from the 10-day injured list before hitting his single, but he grounded into a double play to end the eighth.

García homered to center in the third.

Cubs rookie Seiya Suzuki went hitless in four at-bats and is mired in a 1-for-23 slump with eight strikeouts.

“That’s a pretty frustrating (loss),” Hendricks said. “I thought we played pretty well, made some good plays out there, put together great at-bats. We had some chances there late. We just hit balls right at guys.”

ROTATION ROUNDUP

Johnny Cueto threw 3 2/3 innings and 74 pitches in his third start for Triple-A Charlotte at Gwinnett. La Russa intimated Cueto could join the rotation shortly.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: LF Andrew Vaughn (bruised right hand) is headed to the 10-day injured list. ... 3B Jake Burger (left knee soreness) could return this weekend, La Russa said. … 3B Yoan Moncada (right oblique strain) and RHP Joe Kelly (right biceps) could return Monday when the White Sox open a seven-game homestand.

Cubs: LHP Wade Miley (left elbow inflammation) will start Thursday for Triple-A Iowa on a rehab assignment. … INF David Bote (left shoulder) fielded grounders and is scheduled to take live batting practice this weekend.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Vince Velasquez (1-2, 4.58 ERA) will face the Boston Red Sox in Friday’s series opener. Velasquez pitched 5 2/3 innings Monday in a 4-0 win over the Angels.

Cubs: LHP Drew Smyly (1-2, 2.79) is scheduled to pitch Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers if he returns from the bereavement list. Smyly allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings of a 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on April 28.

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