Only twice in his first eight starts did Pomeranz complete six innings and the burden he put on the bullpen was affecting games played the next day.

Pomeranz to that point was an interesting starter because of his high strikeout rate but ultimately an unreliable one because he lacked a third pitch and, as a result, the ability to work deep into games.

CHICAGO — Drew Pomeranz appeared on his way to the bullpen two starts ago. The lefthander struggled through four innings at Oakland then had the temerity to argue with manager John Farrell about being taken out of the game.


Pomeranz has since reintroduced a cut fastball to his repertoire and the results have changed the direction of his season. He was sharp again on Wednesday night, pitching seven strong innings as the Red Sox beat the White Sox, 4-1.

The Red Sox took two of three from the Chicago. They have won eight of 10 overall and trail the Yankees by two games in the American League East.

Facing a team that came in with an .810 OPS against lefthanded starters, Pomeranz allowed one run on seven hits and struck out eight without a walk. It was his longest outing since working 7 2/3 innings against Cleveland last Aug. 15.

“He was outstanding,” Farrell said. “On a night we needed the starter to go deep, he did just that.”

Pablo Sandoval is greeted at home by Josh Rutledge after both scored in the sixth inning. Tannen Maury/EPA

The improvement of his cutter along with occasional changeups has given Pomeranz the ability to more easily put hitters away and economize pitch counts within innings.

He has gone 13 innings in his last two starts with one walk and 19 strikeouts.

“I didn’t get a lot of swings on [the cutter] tonight but I think it served its purpose,” Pomeranz said. “It’s just one of those things that I can throw it where I want even if they don’t swing at it.”


Said Farrell: “I think it’s his attack mode and more assertiveness inside the strike zone. That’s what’s allowed him to force them to swing the bat more.”

A day after the Sox had 16 hits, they were held to seven. But four runs in the sixth inning were enough.

After a perfect eighth inning from Matt Barnes, Craig Kimbrel finished the White Sox off for his 15th save, striking out the side. He has set down 42 of the last 45 batters he has faced.

Righthanded hitters are 0 for 45 against Kimbrel with 25 strikeouts.

In his first game since April 23, Pablo Sandoval was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored as the designated hitter. He was activated off the disabled list on Tuesday after missing 31 games with a sprained right knee.

“I just want to do my job. I don’t want to think about personal stuff. I just want to help my team to win games,” Sandoval said. “That’s the most important thing for me. The way these guys have been playing, I have to step up, do the same things they’ve been doing. I tried to help them.”

The game was played at a much different tempo than was the case on Tuesday when the Red Sox beat the White Sox, 13-7.

The teams combined to score 16 runs on 21 hits in the first five innings of that game as ace pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana were knocked around.


On Wednesday, Pomeranz and fellow journeyman Mike Pelfrey allowed one run on seven hits in the first five innings.

The Red Sox, who have played much better defensively in recent weeks after a rough April, were ragged early in the game.

Avisail Garcia singled in the second inning, stole third and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Christian Vazquez. It was the sixth error this season for Vazquez. He had seven in 110 games from 2014-16.

Garcia scored on a two-out double by Tim Anderson.

Deven Marrero’s two-base throwing error put Yolmer Sanchez on second base to start the bottom of the fifth inning. But Pomeranz worked his way out of it.

Pelfrey was done after five shutout innings and only 83 pitches. Anthony Swarzak, reliable all season for the White Sox, allowed four runs in the sixth.

Xander Bogaerts singled with one out and went to third when Mitch Moreland singled. Moreland alertly took second on the throw to third.

The White Sox intentionally walked Jackie Bradley Jr. to get to Josh Rutledge. He accomodated by grounding to shortstop, but Chicago could not turn the double play and the tying run scored.

Sandoval followed with an RBI single to left field and Vazquez with a two-run double to center to make it 4-1.

Pomeranz allowed two singles to left field to start the bottom of the inning but again worked out of the jam. For the first time since April 11, he came back out for the seventh inning and retired the side in order.


The Red Sox continue their road trip on Thursday night in Baltimore, the start of a four-game series. Rick Porcello will face Alec Asher.

Box score: Red Sox 4, White Sox 1

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.