Floyd leads White Sox past Indians 6-3

[June 30, 2009]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- Gavin Floyd shut out Cleveland on five singles over 7 2-3 innings and the surging Chicago White Sox climbed back to .500 with a 6-3 win Monday night over the free-falling Indians, who lost for the 11th time in 13 games.

Floyd (6-5), who started the season by losing four of his first six decisions, improved to 3-0 in June, 4-1 since May 22 and has a 1.39 ERA in his last eight starts. The right-hander walked two, struck out five and escaped a bases-loaded threat in the seventh with a head's-up fielding play.

Floyd charged off the mound, scooped Ryan Garko's slow roller as it trickled up the first-base chalk and threw to first for the inning's final out. Floyd was lifted in the eighth by manager Ozzie Guillen with a runner on and Grady Sizemore coming up. Thornton came on and got Sizemore to swing at his first pitch and lift a harmless fly out to left.

Jermaine Dye and Gordon Beckham had RBI singles off Carl Pavano (6-7) as the White Sox won for the 10th time in 14 games.

The last-place Indians have dropped three straight and only avoided their fifth shutout with a three-run ninth as Shin Soo-Choo homered off Matt Thornton and Garko hit a two-run, two-out shot off Octavio Dotel.

Newly acquired reliever Chris Perez melted down in his Cleveland debut. He hit the first two batters he faced, walked the bases loaded and then cleared them as Chicago scored four runs in the ninth on a fielder's choice, an RBI double, wild pitch and run-scoring single.

The White Sox got a scare in the ninth when shortstop Alexei Ramirez was beaned by Perez. Ramirez dropped to the ground after being struck on the helmet by the right-hander's fastball. Ramirez was checked by a White Sox trainer before being assisted from the field.

Perez then hit Dye, not exactly the production the Indians were looking for after trading third baseman Mark DeRosa to St. Louis on Saturday.

Floyd was in complete control of the Indians through six, but made some self-inflicted trouble in the seventh.

With two outs, he walked Choo, gave up a single to Jhonny Peralta and walked Travis Hafner. Garko then hit a tapper toward first that Floyd alertly picked up before it went across the foul line and threw to first for the apparent third out.

However, plate umpire Scott Barry ruled it was foul, prompting Guillen to come out and complain. The umpiring crew met for several moments near first before calling Garko out. That set off Indians manager Eric Wedge, who stormed from the dugout and was quickly ejected by crew chief Tom Hallion.

Helped by a pair of double plays, Floyd faced the minimum 15 through five innings.

The White Sox jumped on Pavano for a run in the first. Scott Podsednik singled leading off, stole second and took third on a groundout before Dye ripped an RBI single off shortstop Luis Valbuena's glove.

Chicago went up 2-0 in the second on Beckham's run-scoring single.

NOTES: Indians LHP Aaron Laffey, working his way back from a strained side muscle, will make at least one more minor league start before coming back to Cleveland. On Sunday, Laffey gave up three runs and five hits with six walks for Double-A Akron. "We need to see more than that before we bring him up here," manager Eric Wedge said. ... For the first time in six games, the White Sox did not make an error. They came in on a sloppy slide, having made 17 errors in their previous 11 games. ... White Sox DH Jim Thome earned his 1,599th walk in the ninth, tying him with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for 12th place on the career list.

[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]

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