PHOENIX — The power that eluded the White Sox during their miserable start has steadily surfaced, with a 9-2 victory Saturday night over the Diamondbacks serving as proof.
Paul DeJong, Andrew Vaughn, Lenyn Sosa and Korey Lee homered and Erick Fedde worked out of trouble to navigate through six innings and provide the Sox with one of their most satisfying victories in an otherwise dismal first half.
“Homers win games, especially when you walk right before them,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Crooked numbers are a big deal.”
Tommy Pham’s two-out walk in the fifth preceded a two-run homer by Vaughn. Two walks in the seventh set up a three-run homer by Sosa, who collected three hits and is batting .359 (14-for-39) with two doubles, two homers and seven RBI in his last 11 games.
“I think I’m more comfortable now, but also the confidence level the coaches have given me … that’s helped a lot,” Sosa said through interpreter Billy Russo.
This was only the Sox’ seventh win in 37 road games, but it was a triumph to treasure for a brief time before the series finale Sunday. The four homers were a season high.
The Sox have hit 25 homers in 14 games this month. DeJong, who hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth, has seven homers and 12 RBI in his last 15 games.
Vaughn hit reliever Bryce Jarvis’ first pitch for a two-run homer in the fifth, increasing his homer total to five in his last 16 games.
The Sox (19-53) have hit at least one home run in 15 of their last 16 games.
Ironically, Martin Maldonado, who entered the game with an .078 batting average, kick-started the offense with a double in the third.
Reliever Thyago Vieira intentionally dropped the ball while on the rubber, resulting in a balk that advanced Maldonado to third. Vaughn followed with a hard single to center to score Maldonado, who might not have scored had Vieira not committed the balk.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters the team suspected Maldonado could have noticed how Vieira would throw certain pitches by the way he put his pitching hand into his glove.
“I’ve been in this game for a long time,” Maldonado said. “Their pitching coach [Brent Strom] knows me really well. It is what it is.”
Meanwhile, Fedde (5-1) labored through a 24-pitch first but equaled his season high with 108 pitches in six innings. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and stranded Jake McCarthy after a leadoff double in the fourth.
‘‘My goal for the day was to try to get leadoff guys out and try to minimize the run game,” Fedde said. “I did a terrible job of that. But I was able to minimize for the most part.”