White Sox, Noesi beat Seattle Mariners

CHICAGO – The Mariners had just five hits. They left nine runners on base and went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position. And manager Lloyd McClendon felt much of the blame belonged to his own team.

Taijuan Walker threw a wild pitch in the first inning that allowed Conor Gillaspie to score the only run in Seattle’s 1-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

“We didn’t swing the bats extremely well,” McClendon said. “Balls we did hit hard they made great plays on. … That’s baseball.”

Hector Noesi (3-6) allowed five hits in 6 2/3 innings for the White Sox, bouncing back from a shaky outing against the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander pitched for Seattle for parts of three seasons before he was traded to Texas after two April relief appearances.

Noesi pitched in three games for the Rangers before he was let go again. Chicago claimed him off waivers April 25, and the crisp performance against the Mariners made him 3-5 with a 4.13 ERA in 14 games with the White Sox.

“He was pitching good,” Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano said. “You have to give him credit, but also we chased a lot of pitches out of the zone. That’s what makes a pitcher even better, you start chasing and he doesn’t have to throw his strike.”

Chicago finished with just two hits. But Noesi combined with two relievers on a five-hitter.

Eric Surkamp got Cano to fly out with the bases loaded for the final out of the seventh, and Jake Petricka pitched two innings for his third save in four chances.

Seattle right-hander Taijuan Walker (1-1) lasted only four innings in his second start of the season. The 21-year-old Walker struggled with his control in his first loss in five major league appearances.

Walker allowed two hits, five walks and struck out three while throwing 83 pitches.