Cubs and Cardinals Both Lose Friday

CHICAGO--Carlos Rodon kept putting runners on base, and the defense kept wiping them out.

The Chicago White Sox did not put many runners on, but they finally managed to score while the Cubs never did.

Pinch-hitter J.B. Shuck drove in Emilio Bonifacio with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the White Sox beat the Cubs 1-0 on Friday, their eighth win in 10 games.

Neither starter allowed a run, with the Cubs' Kyle Hendricks going seven innings in his third straight scoreless start.

Rodon lasted six innings for the White Sox, despite some control issues. As manager Robin Ventura put it, he performed "kind of a Houdini act out there."

The South Siders then opened the crosstown series on a winning note thanks to that run in the eighth and a season-high five double plays by the Cubs.

The rally started when Bonifacio, also a pinch-hitter, got hit by Hector Rondon (3-2) leading off the eighth. He stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Eaton before Shuck drove him in with a sacrifice fly to left.

That made a winner of Jake Petricka (3-2), who worked the seventh. Zach Duke struck out three and walked one in the eighth. David Robertson picked up his 19th save in 23 chances, striking out Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler in the ninth before second baseman Carlos Sanchez dived to his right to snag Chris Coglan's liner, ending the game.

Game time today, 3:05pm.

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PITTSBURGH--Gerrit Cole ended a dominant first half of the season with another win.

Cole pitched seven strong innings to become the major leagues' first 13-game winner and Neil Walker had a two-run homer among his three hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Friday night.

"I feel good. I feel strong. I feel healthy," Cole said. "I feel like I've gotten better every time out in some area."

Cole (13-3) allowed two runs, both on Matt Carpenter's third inning home run, and six hits while striking out three and walking two. He became just the second Pirates pitcher to win 13 games before the All-Star break, joining Dock Ellis, who had 14 in 1971.

"He's found out, even this year, that misexecuted pitches can have some bad results," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said of the 24-year-old Cole. "You've got to meet the challenges of the game and he's continued to do that through his first half in very strong fashion."

Walker's home run, his seventh, extended the Pirates' lead to 5-2 in the fourth inning.

Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his National League-leading 29th save in 30 opportunities.

The Pirates (51-35) won for the sixth time in seven games and drew within 4-1/2 games of the Cardinals (56-31) in the NL Central in the second of a four-game series between the teams with the best records in the major leagues.

Game time tonight, 6:15pm.