White Sox deal Indians 2-1 loss in 10 innings
The aces were played Monday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
As anticipated, White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale did his job. So did Cleveland mound opponent Corey Kluber, who showed why he won the American League Cy Young Award last season.
“They were great,” Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “I don't think it's fun to face either guy, so it was everything as advertised.”
Sale pitched 8 innings and allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 8 innings. The left-hander had 7 strikeouts. Kluber, who fanned 18 Cardinals in his last outing, pitched 9 innings against the White Sox and allowed 1 run on 5 hits. He struck out 12.
“It's not a comfortable at-bat when you go up there and tell yourself, ‘If I make contact here, I'm doing pretty good,'” Sox designated hitter Adam LaRoche said. “I really don't like that feeling. That's kind of what I got tonight off of Kluber.”
The Indians felt much the same about having to face Sale, and that is the beauty of a pitchers duel like the one that went down at the Cell.
“Absolutely,” Sale said when asked if he likes matching up against the other team's ace. “It just keeps you in the game. You stay focused. The team is in the game right there, every pitch, every out, every inning where you're focused, locked in and do everything you can to come out on top.”
When Sale and Kluber were both in the dugout as the game moved into the 10th inning, both the White Sox and Indians were looking for a wild card.
Fortunately for the Sox, Carlos Sanchez was game.
In just his fourth game since coming up from Class AAA Charlotte and taking over for the demoted Micah Johnson at second base, Sanchez blooped a two-out single to left field off reliever Zach McAllister to score J.B. Shuck from second base.
The clutch hit gave the Sox a 2-1 decision and extended their winning streak to six games, the longest since August 2013.
“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and I did,” Sanchez said. “It was a very exciting moment for me and it was the first time that I hit a walk-off hit. But the most important thing is that we won the game.”
Adam Eaton put the White Sox (18-17) in a position to move over the .500 mark for the first time since June 4 of last season by tripling off Kluber in the sixth inning and coming home to score on a wild pitch.
It was a gusty baserunning move, but it paid off for the Sox' leadoff man and tied the game at 1-1.
“It's just being aggressive,” Eaton said. “Kluber is a heck of a pitcher. You're not going to get too many chances with a man on third base there, and I was just trying to make something happen.
“I was probably out if he (catcher Roberto Perez) held on to the ball, but sometimes you've got to be aggressive and try to make something happen and it ended up in our favor tonight.”