White Sox roughed up by Guardians in first game of doubleheader
CLEVELAND - José Ramírez hit his second grand slam of the season, connecting during a 9-run second inning as the Cleveland Guardians roughed up Dallas Keuchel and routed the sloppy White Sox 11-1 Wednesday in a doubleheader opener.
Cleveland won at home for the first time with its new name. The Guardians had lost their first three at Progressive Field this season.
"That was great," Cleveland pitcher Shane Bieber said. "The longer the inning our hitters have, the better. And the second was a long one."
The Guardians delivered 8 straight hits off Keuchel (1-1), who allowed a career-high 10 runs and 10 hits, before the former Cy Young Award winner was pulled with no outs in the second.
"I watched it back on film, it didn't look any better," Keuchel said. "I was trying to do the best I could. You just kind of tip your hat and move on."
The Sox didn't help their left-hander too much, either, making 4 errors in the first 2 innings - 3 by All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson - that contributed to a pair of unearned runs.
"Just when you think you've seen it all, you really haven't," Keuchel said.
Ramírez, who signed a seven-year, $141 million contract last week, leads the majors with 19 RBIs. His grand slam was Cleveland's third in 10 games to start the season.
Bieber (1-0) won for the first time since June 8, 2021, allowing 1 run and 4 hits in 6 innings. The former Cy Young Award winner struck out 7 without issuing a walk.
Josh Naylor and Oscar Mercado had 2 hits apiece and Myles Straw scored 3 runs for the Guardians. Second baseman Gabriel Arias made his major-league debut, scoring and driving in a run.
The White Sox got on the board in the sixth when Anderson doubled home Adam Engel.
"The manager didn't get them ready to play," Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "I take the heat for that."
Games between the White Sox and Cleveland on Monday and Tuesday were postponed by rain and cold, prompting a traditional doubleheader to be added to the schedule.