Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - John Danks went the distance and Conor Gillaspie knocked in a pair of runs as Chicago took down Houston by a 6-0 count in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Danks (3-4) allowed 10 hits but walked only one, fanning six over his 118- pitch outing that tied a season high. It was his first shutout since 2011 and the first 10-hit shutout in the majors since Carlos Silva did so for the Twins on Aug. 3, 2004.
"I feel like I didn't give in at any point," Danks admitted of a performance which lowered his ERA to 4.81. "I was able to throw strikes any time I wanted. I was able to limit walks and home runs."
Adam LaRoche homered and scored two runs, with Tyler Flowers and Carlos Sanchez adding an RBI apiece for the White Sox, who won the series and have taken four of six overall.
Roberto Hernandez (2-4) was tagged in the loss for five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits over 5 2/3 frames for the Astros, who haven't won a series since taking two of three from Oakland on May 18-20.
"I don't want today to be repeated a lot throughout the year," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We didn't do ourselves a ton of favors."
Flowers singled home Gillaspie with two outs in the second and Chicago provided Danks the only offense he needed.
The White Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the third, and took a 4-0 lead on a two-run single from Gillaspie followed by an RBI groundout from Alexei Ramirez.
In the sixth, Ramirez reached on a Jonathan Villar throwing error, stole second and scored Chicago's fifth run of the contest when Sanchez singled. LaRoche's opposite-field solo homer to left in the seventh made it 6-0.
Danks allowed a hit in every frame except the first, second and eighth. He loaded the bases with one out in the third but Jose Altuve hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
Villar started the home fifth by driving a pitch deep into center -- and looked to be secure pulling into third with a triple -- but instead was waved home only to be thrown out at the plate. Jake Marisnick doubled with two down but the hosts still came up empty.
Villar doubled and was thrown out at home on a Jason Castro single to end the seventh, then Luis Valbuena ended the game by hitting into a 4-6-3 double play after Evan Gattis doubled and Chris Carter walked.
"Once you walk a guy, and he's up (in pitches) where he's at, you have to check," noted Chicago manager Robin Ventura. "He wanted it. He definitely wanted to stay in there. But you're just making sure he's fine and not fatiguing at that point. He's a tough kid."
Game Notes
Danks became the 10th pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000 strikeouts with the club ... The veteran lefty also threw 118 pitches in a 4-3 win over Cincinnati on May 10 and last went the distance in a shutout on Aug. 27, 2011 in a 3-0 win at Seattle where he allowed three hits and a walk while fanning 10 ... Chris Sale was the last White Sox starter to toss a complete-game shutout, on May 12, 2013 against the Angels ... Terry Forster was the last ChiSox pitcher to record a 10-plus-hit shutout, on June 21, 1973 vs. Oakland.
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