Jesse Scholtens controlled the game from the first pitch, throwing five shutout innings as Tampa Bay routed Chicago 8-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Rays built an insurmountable lead through seven innings before the White Sox managed three meaningless runs in the ninth.
Scholtens earned his first win of the season, allowing just one hit over five innings with three strikeouts and two walks on 77 pitches. The right-hander carried a 0.00 ERA into the game and maintained his perfect mark through another dominant outing.
Tampa Bay broke through in the third when Junior Caminero homered to left field, a 393-foot shot that opened the scoring. The Rays extended their advantage in the fifth as Caminero grounded out to score Hunter Feduccia, then Jonathan Aranda doubled home Taylor Walls for a 3-0 lead. Jake Fraley added a solo homer in the sixth, his 398-foot blast to right field pushing the margin to four runs.
Sean Burke absorbed the loss for Chicago, allowing four earned runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings. The left-hander walked three and struck out two, falling to 0-2 with a 4.43 ERA. The White Sox managed just one hit through eight innings before finally breaking through against Tampa Bay's bullpen in the ninth.
The victory extended Tampa Bay's winning streak to four games and improved their record to 9-7, maintaining first place in their division. Chicago fell to 6-11 after the loss, sitting in last place in their division.