Nova throws shutout and White Sox net a win, top Marlins 9-1

CHICAGO -- Ivan Nova stumped Miami again and improved to 5-0 against the Marlins.

Nova pitched a four-hitter that led the Chicago White Sox over Miami 9-1 on Monday night.

"I always want to do my best out there," Nova said. "I always work hard. Today it finally came out."

Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer, Yoan Moncada added a three-run shot, and James McCann and Ryan Goins later connected for back-to-back drives.

"Nothing that he does surprises me," Abreu said of Moncada. "Because I know all the time that he's looking to do more. He had been working hard. He's a great baseball player with a lot of talent and I still think that he can do more."

Chicago opened a 10-game homestand by winning for the third time in its last 11 tries. The Marlins fell to 0-4 on their six-game road trip.

The White Sox became the first team in the majors to have protective netting in place from foul pole to foul pole, extending the safety measure for their first game at Guaranteed Rate Field since the All-Star break.

The new netting reaches a maximum height of 45 feet and, for ground rules, will be treated like a wall -- any ball that bounces or is thrown off the nets will remain in play. The extra netting didn't come into play in its debut.

"I think it's awesome," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "I know they've been considering it and talking about it, a lot of people have been talking about it throughout the league, obviously through injuries and things that have occurred. For (the organization) to be on the forefront of it speaks a lot to their desire to want to give both the fans safety and still see the ballgame very clearly."

Nova (5-9) improved to 5-0 lifetime against the Marlins, striking out five with no walks. This was his ninth career complete game -- his previous one was a three-hit shutout against the Marlins for Pittsburgh on April 29, 2017.

"We've had trouble with him, to be quite honest with you," Miami manager Don Mattingly said. "And that's when we had a stack of hitters in here that did not handle him well. We have consistently not been able to do anything with him."

Jorge Alfaro homered in the second inning for the lone Miami run.

Trevor Richards (3-12) allowed seven runs over five innings in his seventh consecutive loss. He walked one and struck out seven.

Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the first. Jon Jay singled for the first of his two hits, Abreu followed with an RBI double and scored on Moncada's single.

After Jay doubled in the third, Abreu hit his team-high 22nd home run of the season.

Moncada extended Chicago's lead to 7-1 in the fifth with his 18th homer.

McCann and Goins greeted reliever Jose Quijada with home runs.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Marlins: 2B Miguel Rojas (strained right shoulder) is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday. ... 3B-OF Jon Berti (strained left oblique) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday. ... LHP Pablo Lopez (strained right shoulder) is scheduled for a bullpen session on Wednesday. ... RHP Drew Steckenrider (strained right flexor) is scheduled for a 20-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday. ... RHP Jose Urena (herniated disc) has begun a long-toss program.

White Sox: SS Tim Anderson (high ankle sprain) ran the bases on Monday and could be ready for a rehab assignment in the next couple of days. ... OF Eloy Jimenez (right ulnar nerve contusion) began throwing, but doesn't have a timetable for his return.

UP NEXT

LHP Caleb Smith (5-4, 3.47 ERA) starts for the Marlins against RHP Dylan Covey (1-5, 5.83). Covey has pitched twice in relief after getting hit hard in his last start by Oakland.

---

An earlier version of this story deleted references to shutout in headline and story.

---

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports