Thome welcomes his slump buster
White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome might have found an unlikely ally in his attempt to hit his way out of an extended slump -- C.C. Sabathia.
After hitting a pair of 2-run homers off Sabathia on Opening Day, Thome hit a solo shot off the Indians' ace in the second inning of Tuesday night's game at U.S. Cellular Field.
"He's a guy that's got plus stuff and he won the Cy Young (last year),'' Thome said. "He's a guy that you really have to bear down on, and when you have an opportunity to score on him or get some big hits, you have to.''
That's what Thome did in his first trip to the plate Tuesday, hitting an opposite-field homer that just cleared the left-field fence leading off the second.
That made it 3 home runs in 4 at-bats off Sabathia for Thome, who flied out and struck out his next two times against the big left-hander.
Thome was 3-for-21 on the Sox' 10-game West Coast trip, and the left-hander didn't start any of the three weekend games at San Francisco because there was no designated hitter.
"That was the first time I sat this season without playing, so I tried to take advantage of it and do some things to come back here for this homestand and make it better,'' Thome said.
Juan still gone: Juan Uribe missed his fourth straight game Tuesday with a strained right hamstring, but manager Ozzie Guillen said the second baseman is not headed for the disabled list.
"It's not that bad,'' Guillen said.
Alexei Ramirez started again at second base, while Pablo Ozuna was on the bench.
"Ramirez is playing better,'' Guillen said. "I think Ozuna right now isn't swinging the bat well. He's a little erratic in that position.''
Ozuna did get in the game in the top of the fifth, taking over for Joe Crede, who was ejected by home-plate umpire Wally Bell for arguing a check-swing third strike.
In the second inning, Crede exchanged words with Bell after taking a called third strike on a pitch that appeared to be well inside.
First things first: The White Sox are enjoying life in first place, but manager Ozzie Guillen said it would be foolish to count out the last-place Detroit Tigers.
"People are crazy,'' Guillen said. "They're going to come out of that. You look at how bad they've played and they're only 6 games out. This division is going to be hard. This division is going to be all the way to the wire. Hopefully the wire stays the same way and we continue to win.''
Indians claim Sox reliever: Minor-league reliever Oneli Perez was claimed off waivers by Cleveland and optioned to Class AAA Buffalo.
Perez was 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in 14 games with Class AAA Charlotte. Last season the right-hander was 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA and 16 saves with AA Birmingham.