Indians 6, White Sox 4: Shin-Soo Choo snapped a seventh-inning tie with an RBI groundout and Vinny Rottino added insurance with a solo home run a frame later as visiting Cleveland knocked Chicago out of first place in the American League Central.
Jason Kipnis drove in a pair of runs and Russ Canzler had two hits and an RBI for the Indians, who won a series for just the third time in 23 tries.
Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski each recorded two hits and an RBI for Chicago, which fell one game behind Detroit with seven remaining. The White Sox, who have lost seven of eight, dropped out of first place in the division for the first time since July 23.
After Chicago took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on Alexei Ramirez's RBI double, Carlos Santana drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth to tie it. Choo plated the go-ahead run with a grounder to first base against Matt Thornton (4-9) in the seventh and Rottino belted his third homer with one out in the eighth to increase the advantage.
Tony Sipp (1-2) retired the only batter he faced in the sixth and Chris Perez worked a scoreless ninth for his 38th save.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland SS Asdrubal Cabrera left the game in the middle of the first inning with a mid-back strain. He popped out in his only at-bat. ... The Indians have shut down RHP Ubaldo Jimenez for the remainder of the season due to a sprained right ankle. Jimenez was a disappointing 9-17 with a 5.55 ERA in 31 starts in his first full year with Cleveland. ... The White Sox begin a four-game series against Tampa Bay at home on Thursday, while Detroit attempts to complete a four-game home sweep of Kansas City.
Cleveland | Chi. White Sox | |
Justin Masterson | Player | Hector Santiago |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
4.2 | IP | 3.1 |
2 | Strikeouts | 2 |
7 | Hits | 5 |
7.71 | ERA | 8.10 |
Cleveland | Chi. White Sox | |
Russ Canzler | Player | A.J. Pierzynski |
2 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 3 |
.500 | Avg | .667 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Cleveland | 9 | 1 | 14 | .257 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
Chi. White Sox | 8 | 0 | 10 | .250 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |