Masterson helps Indians top White Sox 4-2
Justin Masterson pitched six effective innings, Kosuke Fukudome had a tiebreaking RBI triple and the Cleveland Indians inched closer to the top of the AL Central with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.
Matt LaPorta hit a two-run homer for Cleveland, which pulled within 1 1-2 games of idle Detroit for the division lead. The Tribe opens a three-game series at Detroit on Friday.
Paul Konerko homered for the White Sox, which lost starter Phil Humber on a scary play in the second inning. Konerko, Adam Dunn and Omar Vizquel each had two hits, and Tyler Flowers singled in a run.
Masterson (10-7) allowed two runs and seven hits, struck out two and walked three. The 6-foot-6 right-hander improved to 2-2 with a 1.61 ERA in four starts against the White Sox this season.
Rafael Perez and Joe Smith combined to finish the seventh, Vinnie Pestano got out of a jam in the eighth and Chris Perez finished for his 27th save in 30 chances.
Humber was struck in the face by Fukudome's comebacker with one out in the second inning. He fell to the ground as the ball bounded back to catcher Flowers.
Humber stood up immediately after the play ended and appeared to be alert as the club's medical staff checked on him, but was removed after a short delay.
The White Sox announced Humber was struck above the right eye and was removed as a precautionary measure. He was alert and responsive and will evaluated again on Friday.
The Indians won the last two games of their three-game series against the White Sox after losing seven of their first eight games against Chicago this season.
Fukudome played a key role in Cleveland's decisive rally in the sixth. After Shin-Soo Choo led off with an infield single, Fukudome tripled into the right-field corner against Will Ohman (0-3) to give the Indians a 3-2 lead.
Fukudome, acquired in a July trade with the crosstown Cubs, came home later in the inning when Asdrubal Cabrera drew a two-out walk against Jason Frasor on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded.
The White Sox loaded the bases with two out in the eighth, but Pestano struck out Gordon Beckham to end the inning. Beckham is 3 for 24 over his last six games, dropping his average to .238.
Konerko went deep in the third to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Konerko's 28th homer was just the sixth off Masterson in 173 innings this season.
LaPorta responded with a two-run drive on an 0-2 pitch from rookie Zach Stewart with two out in the fourth.
Flowers' RBI single in the fourth tied it at 2. He also had three walks and has reached base 11 times in over his last four starts in place of injured catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
Dunn singled twice for his first two-hit game since July 22. Dunn is hitting .333 in 36 at-bats against the Indians this season. He's hitting .149 against everybody else.
NOTES: Indians rookie Jason Kipnis was expected to return to the lineup after missing three games with right side soreness, but was a late scratch because of tightness in his right hamstring. He was replaced at second base by Jason Donald. ... Josh Tomlin will start Friday against Detroit's Max Scherzer. Tomlin has gone at least five innings in each of his first 36 career starts, the only big league pitcher to do that since 1919. ... The White Sox next play a three-game weekend series against AL West-leading Texas. Matt Harrison will face Chicago's Jake Peavy in the opener. . Konerko's home run was the 393rd of his career, tying Jim Edmonds for 52nd place. . OF Austin Kearns officially cleared waivers and was released outright by the Indians.