ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Chicago White Sox needed a lift after scratching infielder Miguel Vargas from the starting lineup moments before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels because of a left oblique strain.
Aaron Civale delivered.
The right-hander pitched 6 1/3 outstanding innings as part of a combined one-hitter in a 1-0 victory in front of 39,161 at Angel Stadium.
“Total control,” manager Will Venable said. “Got a lot of swing-and-miss on the curveball. The fastball was good, the cutter. He was just in total control. Did a great job, outstanding.”
Civale and relievers Brandon Eisert and Jordan Leasure combined for the one-hitter as the Sox won their 42nd game, surpassing last year’s victory total. Civale allowed the one hit while striking out eight and walking two.
Civale said “a handful of different things” clicked.
“Had a good game plan going in, chatting before the game with coaches and catchers, what (catcher Edgar Quero) saw yesterday, what (catcher Kyle) Teel brought today,” Civale said. “And what (pitching coach Ethan) Katz and (catching coach) Drew (Butera) were bringing to the table on top of what I do going into a game.
“I thought we did a good job of game planning and adjusting as need be or sticking to what we were targeting going in.”
The only hit was an infield single by Zach Neto leading off the fourth. The ball rolled down the third-base line. Brooks Baldwin attempted to make a play on it, but the ball came loose as he tried to transfer it from his glove to his throwing hand.
“Weak contact down the line, a tough play no matter what,” Civale said. “He probably is going to be safe. He’s got some good speed on him. The name of the game is weak contact and trying to limit comfortable swings. We did a pretty good job of that.”
Teel said Civale “made my job really easy.”
“He had a lot of conviction on the mound,” Teel said. “I could have been blindfolded, he was hitting his spots.”
Teel drove in the game’s lone run in the second. Luis Robert Jr. began the inning with a single. He stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball to center and scored on a single by Teel.
“(Angels starter Kyle) Hendricks is tough, he really challenges you to be disciplined with your game plan,” Venable said. “Probably saw a few too many ground balls on pull-side than we’d like to, but that one inning did a nice job. Luis getting on, stealing a base, Colson getting him over (on the fly ball) and Kyle driving him in. Just enough (offense).”
Teel said of the second-inning hit: “He’s got really good stuff. Everything was working away from me. I let the ball travel a little bit and wasn’t trying to do too much.”
Robert was originally in sixth spot in the batting order, but he was moved to fourth after Vargas couldn’t go.
Venable said Vargas suffered the injury while taking some swings pregame.
“Felt a little something in his side,” Venable said. Evaluations continued for Vargas, but Venable said a trip to the injured list is “likely.”
Vargas is slashing .229/.305/.402 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs in 106 games. The third baseman/first baseman is hitting .296 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 13 games since the All-Star break.
The Sox shuffled most of their infield after Vargas was scratched. Lenyn Sosa moved from second base to first, Josh Rojas went from third to second and Baldwin shifted from left field to third.
They aided Civale and the two relievers in the tight game.
“Close games are definitely more tense, but they’re fun to pitch in,” Civale said.
Brandon Eisert struck out one in 1 2/3 hitless innings and Leasure pitched a perfect ninth.
The Sox (42-69) go for the three-game sweep Sunday after winning Friday’s game 6-3 featuring four home runs and Saturday’s one-run contest.
“It’s competitive baseball at the end of the day,” Civale said of the club’s ability to find different ways to win while improving to 10-4 since the All-Star break. “There’s a lot of good baseball being played by this team, both pitching, offense, defense. Catchers throwing guys out, back-picking guys at third. Eliminating big innings.
“A lot of little things that at the end of the day win you games. We’ve been doing a really good job of that.”