CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox tied a major league record with four consecutive home runs, all against reliever Roel Ramirez in his major league debut, and went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2 on Sunday.
Ramirez is the first pitcher to allow four straight homers in his debut. Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez connected during a six-run fifth inning.
Ramirez took the mound in the fifth with Chicago leading 1-0. He struck out his first batter to start, but things went south quickly. After two singles, a caught stealing and a walk, Moncada smacked a three-run homer to right.
Grandal followed with another drive into the right-field seats, and then Abreu and Jimenez each homered to left.
Ramirez is among the players promoted by the Cardinals following a COVID-19 outbreak that stalled St. Louis’ season for 2 1/2 weeks. Ramirez, a 25-year-old right-hander, split last season between Double-A and Triple-A.
St. Louis’ Dakota Hudson (0-2) held the White Sox to a run and two hits over four innings in his first start since July 26, and got tagged with the loss.
The Cardinals head to the North Side for five games in three days against the Cubs, starting with a doubleheader on Monday, 3:20 with the pregame and the first pitch at 4:15 on KIRX.