SAN DIEGO -- White Sox right-hander Sean Burke was too good for the Padres during a 4-0 victory Saturday night at Petco Park.
And the offense was good enough late against San Diego starter Michael King to produce the team’s fifth straight victory and move the White Sox within one game of .500 at 16-17.
Burke threw six scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking one while scattering four hits. With the game scoreless in the fifth and runners on first and second, Ramón Laureano connected on a line drive to right-center hauled in by Tristan Peters, and Burke then blew away Fernando Tatis Jr. on three pitches to end the inning. It was the biggest challenge posed against Burke all night.
With Saturday’s 88-pitch effort, Burke has now gone 14 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 2.72.
King worked behind in the count quite frequently after the first inning, and the White Sox finally made it work to their advantage in the sixth. Peters drew a one-out walk and Andrew Benintendi reached on a bunt single.
Munetaka Murakami grounded out to move the runners up, and Miguel Vargas followed with a two-run, two-out single to right on a 2-0 offering. The White Sox added two in the seventh on Edgar Quero’s single and Peters’ squeeze bunt.
If the Padres were a barometer for the rapidly improving South Siders, then they have already passed the test. They have been the better team in these first two games, with the only runs scored by the Padres coming Friday against reliever Osvaldo Bido.