Tyler O'Neill homers twice and Red Sox send White Sox to 111th loss with 7-5 win

BOSTON (AP) — Tyler O’Neill homered twice for the Boston Red Sox in a 7-5 win Saturday night that sent the Chicago White Sox to their 111th loss.

Chicago wasted a Andrew Vaughn's two-run homer in the first, trailed 7-2 by the fifth and lost its 19th consecutive series.

The White Sox (32-111) are nine defeats shy of tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses since 1900 and are on pace to finish 36-126. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the loss record at 20-134. Chicago has lost 14 of its last 15 games and 44 of 49.

Rob Refsnyder hit an RBI grounder and O'Neill put Boston ahead with a two-run homer in the four-run first off Garrett Crochet (6-11), who dropped to 0-6 in 15 starts since beating Boston on June 7.

O'Neill cleared the Green Monster and hit the ball out of Fenway Park off Enyel De Los Santos in the fifth for his 27th home run this season. It was his 11th career multihomer game, his sixth this year.

Boston (72-70) won its second straight game after a five-game losing streak and trails Minnesota (76-66) for the AL's final wild card berth.

Trevor Story went 1 for 4 with an RBI single in his first game since April 5 after recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery and caused him to miss 133 games.

Connor Wong added an RBI double in the first. Romy González had three hits and stole three bases.

Kenley Jansen got three straight outs on seven pitches for his 26th save in 30 chances, the 446th of his big league career. Boston is 4-2 against the White Sox, clinching the season series for the first time since 2019.

Cooper Criswell (6-4) allowed two runs and six hits over five innings in the 28-year-old rookie right-hander's first start since he was removed after four perfect innings and 52 pitches at Detroit because Red Sox manager Alex Cora wanted to bring in left-hander Rich Hill, who wasted a one-run lead in a 4-1 loss.

Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer in the seventh against Chase Shugart, the 16th of the season for the former Boston outfielder.

Boston improved to 35-13 when wearing its yellow alternate jerseys, including 20-9 since the start of 2023 and 8-6 this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: 3B Miguel Vargas was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts after missing two games with a right eye abrasion.

Red Sox: RHP Isaiah Campbell was recalled from Worcester and placed on the 60-day Injured list with right elbow inflammation. Campbell pitched in eight games this season for Boston, allowing 12 runs in 6 2/3 innings. To make room for Story on the active roster, Boston optioned INF Mickey Gaspar to Triple-A Worcester.

UP NEXT

RHP Chris Flexon (2-14, 5.36) starts Sunday's series finale for the White Sox.

AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/mlb

Boston Red Sox's Tyler O'Neill, left, scores against Chicago White Sox catcher Chuckie Robinson, right, on a double by Romy Gonzalez during the third inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Chicago White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz left, comes to the mound to talk with starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) and catcher Chuckie Robinson (47) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Romy Gonzalez (23) is forced out at second as Chicago White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa, right, turns a double play against Connor Wong during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi (23) watches his three-run home run in front of Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi (23) celebrates his three-run home run that also drove in Chuckie Robinson (47) behind Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Tyler O'Neill, center, and Jarren Duran, right, celebrate with teammates after defeating the Chicago White Sox during a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen reacts to the fly out by Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi to end the baseball game in the ninth inning, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Tyler O'Neill hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court refused Monday to revive a defamation lawsuit that former NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed against a fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member — former tight end Shannon Sharpe.

Favre's filed the lawsuit over comments Sharpe made in 2022 on a Fox Sports show amid a developing Mississippi welfare scandal involving millions of dollars diverted to rich and powerful people.

Mississippi State Auditor Shad White said Favre improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees to go toward a volleyball arena at The University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre had played football and where his daughter was playing volleyball. The fees were from a nonprofit organization that spent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money with approval from the state Department of Human Services.

Sharpe said Favre was “taking from the underserved,” that he “stole money from people that really needed that money” and that someone would have to be a sorry person “to steal from the lowest of the low.”

Favre was not charged with breaking the law and had paid back $1.1 million. White said in a court filing in February that Favre still owed $729,790 because interest caused growth in the original amount he owed.

Favre sued Sharpe over his criticism on the show. A federal district judge tossed the suit, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Favre's appeal Monday.

The ruling said Sharpe’s comments were constitutionally protected opinions based on publicly known facts.

“His statements are better viewed as strongly stated opinions about the widely reported welfare scandal,” Judge Leslie Southwick wrote in Monday's opinion on behalf of a unanimous three-judge appellate panel.

Southwick said alleged inaccuracies in Sharpe's comments were corrected during the show by Sharpe's co-host, who noted that Favre was not criminally charged and had paid back the initial $1.1 million. Sharpe himself said during the program that Favre had asserted he didn't know the source of the funds, Southwick said.

“At the time Sharpe made the statements, the facts on which he was relying were publicly known, and Sharpe had a right to characterize those publicly known facts caustically and unfairly," Southwick wrote.

FILE - Shannon Sharpe attends the 28th annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks with reporters prior to his induction to the Mississippi Hall of Fame in Jackson, Miss., Aug. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)