|
CLEVELAND (AP) -If the Chicago White are trying to send the
Cleveland Indians
a message, it has been received.
''You look at that team over there, they're a little bit tougher than we are right now,'' Cleveland manager
Eric Wedge
said after the
White Sox
defeated the Indians 6-5 Wednesday.
The AL Central-leading
White Sox
have won five of six against Cleveland in a nine-game span and 11 of 14 overall.
Chicago has beaten the Indians exactly 1,000 times.
''To win your division, you have to fare well against the teams in your division,''
White Sox
manager
Ozzie Guillen
said. ''So far, so good. I won't get cocky, but I definitely feel better about the ballclub.''
Carlos Quentin
drove in three runs, including a go-ahead, two-run double in a three-run seventh inning.
''A lot of guys got big hits today,'' Quentin said. ''It was a battle. We scored and they came back at us. We were fortunate
today. We'll take it.''
Gavin Floyd
(5-3) allowed two runs in the first, then retired 15 of 17 hitters before the Indians scored three times to take a 5-3 lead
in the sixth. Floyd gave up five runs - four earned - and eight hits in six innings with seven strikeouts.
Bobby Jenks
pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances, escaping a second-and-third, one-out jam when
Ben Francisco
and
Victor Martinez
popped out.
''To have runners on second and third, it was a big win for us,'' Guillen said. ''Bobby did a great job.''
Trailing by two runs, the
White Sox
surged ahead in the seventh after third baseman
Andy Marte
couldn't handle
Joe Crede
's leadoff grounder for an error.
Alexei Ramirez
singled off
Rafael Perez
and, one out later, A.J. Pierzynski's hit a run-scoring double off
Rafael Betancourt
(1-3).
Quentin, who has driven in 23 runs in his last 20 games, followed with a double into the left-field corner.
Cleveland has lost 10 of 12, dropping 5 1/2 games back in the division. Wedge once again expressed his displeasure with the
way his team is playing.
''Until we start making adjustments, (opposing teams) are going to keep sticking it to us,'' he said. ''It's up to them to
get it done. There can be no excuses.''
Jake Westbrook
, activated from the disabled list before the game, allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. He hadn't pitched for
the Indians since April 19 because of a strained left muscle in the rib area.
Floyd's run-scoring throwing error and Martinez's RBI infield hit gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in the first.
''I felt great in the first inning,'' Floyd said. ''Things just weren't going my way. I just waited for us to come back and
then keep it that way.''
Jermaine Dye
, who entered the game in a 1-for-15 slide, hit a two-out homer in the fourth, and the
White Sox
went ahead 3-2 in the fifth on Pierzynski's RBI groundout and Quentin's sacrifice fly.
Cleveland took a 5-3 lead in the sixth on
David Dellucci
's RBI double and
Jhonny Peralta
's two-run homer on an 0-2 pitch.
''To battle back today, that shows the character of our ballclub,'' Guillen said.
Notes: DH
Travis Hafner
had a cortisone shot in his right shoulder Tuesday and hopes to play Friday night at Kansas City. Hafner, who has missed the
last three games, could be placed on the DL if he isn't ready by the weekend. ... The
White Sox
are 1,000-965 overall against Cleveland. ... RHP
Jorge Julio
was designated for assignment to clear room for Westbrook on the roster. ... Marte had his first career stolen base in the
second inning. ... RHP
Adam Miller
, the Indians' top pitching prospect, underwent reconstructive surgery on the middle finger of his right hand Tuesday and
will be shut down for eight weeks. Miller, who was pitching at Triple-A Buffalo, had a frayed tendon in the finger, which
also had developed a callus. ... OF
Nick Swisher
, in a 5-for-30 slump, didn't play for the
White Sox
.
|