Chicago White Sox score 4 home runs and take third win in a row

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Sometimes the punch before the punch causes damage.

Luis Robert Jr. fouled out on two 3-2 pitches on Monday before getting a walk in the first inning.

Andrew Benintendi came to bat after Roberts' eight pitches and hit a two-run home run off an 0-2 slider by Los Angeles Angels starter Reid Detmers. Andrew Vaughn hit back-to-back home runs two pitches later.

The Sox scored three runs in the first and three more in the second to win their third game in a row, defeating the Angels 8-4 in front of 35,587 fans at Angel Stadium.

“Something simple like (Roberts' walk) paved the way for Benintendi,” Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “The guys did a good job not allowing a single hit.”

The collective approach at the plate helped the Sox to their first three-game winning streak since June 27-29, when they defeated the Atlanta Braves once and the Colorado Rockies twice.

“Wins have been hard to come by,” Sizemore said. “So when you can get one win, you're happy. When you can get several in a row, it's even better.”

The Sox hit four home runs, two of them by Benintendi, giving him the most runs on his team with 19.

“It's been fun to watch him. He's in a good phase right now,” Sizemore said of Benintendi. “He does that against right-handers and left-handers – he's a guy who steps in for us in the middle of the lineup at key moments. It's been nice.”

Vaughn and Lenyn Sosa also hit home runs for the Sox, who are now just one win away from matching their season-best winning streak from May 8-11 (one against the Tampa Bay Rays and three against the Cleveland Guardians).

“We had a good approach (at the plate),” Vaughn said. “We knew what we wanted to do from 1 through 9 (in the order) and stuck to our game plan.”

“You could definitely feel the energy in the dugout. We were going strong, everyone was swinging the bat well. Hitting is contagious.”

With a record of 36-115, the Sox must finish their last 11 games 7-4 to avoid tying the New York Mets (40-120), who formed their expansion team in 1962, for the most losses in the modern era of Major League Baseball.

Combined with their 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on September 8 at Fenway Park, the White Sox have won two consecutive away games for the first time since May 4-5 in St. Louis.

“It feels like we're just playing really well right now,” said starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon. “Offensively, defensively and pitching. Everything has been going well the last few games.”