ST. LOUIS -- The fact that Garrett Crochet dominated the Cardinals over six innings during a 5-1 White Sox victory at Busch Stadium on Sunday afternoon should be of no surprise to anyone who has watched the southpaw during much of his first season as a starter.

But the fact Crochet was even able to make it through the third on Sunday was even more impressive.

After retiring the first eight St. Louis hitters, Crochet (2-4) took a Lars Nootbaar line drive off his left ankle area at a 91 mph exit velocity, per Statcast, which rolled for a single. Crochet threw four warmup pitches as he was checked on by manager Pedro Grifol and head athletic trainer James Kruk, and he ended up staying in the game to strike out six without issuing a walk.

Crochet had the ankle wrapped between innings, and he was still wearing the wrap while talking to the media postgame, although he said X-rays of the area weren’t necessary. He also admitted that Nootbaar’s line drive was more than a glancing blow.

“It felt pretty brutal,” Crochet said. “In my mind when I was doing the warmup pitches I was like, ‘I’m just buying time for someone in the bullpen to get hot.’ But I was able to find my footing there after a couple of throws, and felt like I had some stability.”

Grifol heard the sound upon contact, just like everyone in the stadium did, and saw the look on Crochet’s face. Yet, Crochet still threw 88 pitches (60 strikes) for his first career road win and snapped a personal four-game losing streak.

“He’s a big dude and he’s strong. I mean, he’s really strong,” said Grifol of Crochet. “So, it sounded like it hit him in the thigh or something. But then when we got out there, [and] it hit him in the ankle. When I put together where it hit him and the way it sounded, I thought we might be in a little bit of trouble there.

“He got that last out, came in and taped it up. It was a gutty, gutty performance by him.”

Crochet's mound effort was at the heart of an overall team victory, marking the second time the White Sox (8-26) have won at least two straight in ‘24, their second series victory overall (2-8-1) and their first road series win. Eloy Jiménez’s leadoff homer in the seventh sparked a four-run inning, with the 411-foot drive just to the right of center off Giovanny Gallegos becoming Jiménez’s team-leading fourth of the season.

Hitting the ball in the air and toward the opposite field was important for both Grifol and the designated hitter.

“If you see back at home and in Minnesota, they were pitching me away and I was unavailable to hit that ball,” Jiménez said. “So to stay that way, that was in ’19 too, the most homers I hit and pretty much all my homers went to the other side. So hitting the ball that way means I’m getting better.”

“That means he’s getting the ball in the air, and No. 2, he’s starting to open up the field a little bit,” Grifol said. “That’s when he becomes dangerous. He’s a hitter first, and then he’s got some power.”

Jiménez’s homer tied him with Yoán Moncada for 26th on the all-time White Sox list at 93. It was also his 469th career hit, which puts him 468 ahead of Bryan Ramos, who made his first Major League start at third base, picked up his first career hit with a single to center during the four-run seventh and came around to score his first career run, after picking up his first career RBI with a sacrifice fly in the second.

Ramos was smiling ear-to-ear postgame when talking about his accomplishments, after entering for defense in the ninth Saturday and taking part in a pair of White Sox victories.

“Right now I feel way too happy, in the good way,” Ramos said. “I've been playing this sport a long time, and now I get the opportunity in my first game starting, I get a base hit. That's awesome. That's how I dreamed it."

“It reminded me of me in ‘19 when I first came up. He was very anxious but doing well,” Jiménez said. “It’s a privilege to come to the big leagues, and especially when you are Latin. We have the opportunity, but not too many guys make it. But to be one of them is good.”