Paxton leads the way as the Dodgers shut out the lowly White Sox 3-0
James Paxton combined with four relievers on a five-hitter, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-0 on Monday night.
Los Angeles was shut down by Garrett Crochet, but got to Chicago's shaky bullpen for three runs. The NL West leaders won for the sixth time in eight games.
Paxton struck out six while working five innings of three-hit ball. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA over his last three starts.
Daniel Hudson (4-1), Yohan Ramírez and Evan Phillips each got three outs before Alex Vesia handled the ninth for his fourth save in five chances.
Chicago had a runner on second in the eighth when Paul DeJong flied out to the wall in center, ending the inning.
The Dodgers played without outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who flew home to the Dominican Republic for a personal reason. Manager Dave Roberts said Hernández is expected to be back on Tuesday.
Los Angeles slugger Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 3 with a walk and a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.
The White Sox lost for the fifth time in six games. At 21-59, they are off to the worst 80-game start in franchise history. They have scored one or fewer runs in 23 games, including 11 shutouts.
Crochet was terrific once again, allowing five hits — all singles — in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked none.
The 25-year-old Crochet is 5-2 with a 1.53 ERA in his last 11 starts. He could be a potential target for the Dodgers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
Steven Wilson (1-5) got the final out of the sixth for Chicago, but Miguel Rojas hit a leadoff double in the seventh for Los Angeles. Rojas advanced on a groundout and scored on Kiké Hernández's double.
DeJong then committed a throwing error on Chris Taylor's grounder to shortstop, and Hernández scampered home for a 2-0 lead.
There was a 30-minute rain delay while the Dodgers were batting in the seventh.
White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jiménez went 1 for 4 in his second game since returning from a left hamstring injury. It looked as if Jiménez was experiencing some discomfort while running the bases during the seventh inning of Sunday's 11-2 loss at Detroit, but he didn't appear to have any issues against LA.
“Every report I got today was that he was feeling pretty good,” manager Pedro Grifol said before Monday's game. “And yesterday, I think he said on turns that it might have bothered him a little bit but on straightaways he felt good.”