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 After withstanding nine mostly dominant innings by Kluber, the White
Sox beat the Indians 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning on a
walk-off double with two outs by rookie second baseman Carlos
Sanchez.
"He's a very heady player," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of
Sanchez, who was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on May 15. "He
just has a real knack for the game, the feel and he has savvy and
all that stuff you like in a player."
Sanchez's game-winning hit was laced to the opposite field off
reliever Zach McAllister (0-2), who allowed the first two batters of
the 10th to reach base. Sanchez's ball landed inside the left field
line, past the reach of diving left fielder Zach Walters, and scored
J.B. Shuck from second base to end it.
Shuck was pinch-running for right fielder Avisail Garcia, who
tweaked his right knee while drawing the leadoff walk against
McAllister.
The winning streak is Chicago's longest since a six-game run from
Aug. 16-22, 2013. The White Sox (18-17) are a game over .500 for the
first time since June 4, 2014.
Left-handed reliever Zach Duke (2-2) earned the win after pitching a
scoreless 10th.
The Indians (14-23) lost their second in a row and dropped to 7-17
against the American League Central, failing to take advantage of
Kluber's impressive night.
Coming off an 18-strikeout performance in his previous outing,
Kluber struck out 12 on Monday allowed just one run in a nine-inning
no-decision. He permitted five hits and one walk.
"Every loss is frustrating, whether it's by one run or by 10,"
Kluber said. "We all want to win in here, and when we don't, it's
frustrating."
Chicago left-hander Chris Sale also wasn't involved in the decision.
He went eight innings and allowed one run on four hits and two walks
while striking out seven. He just wasn't as overpowering as Kluber,
who breezed through the first three innings with no hits allowed and
seven strikeouts.
Chicago trailed 1-0 after five innings but finally got to Kluber to
tie it in the sixth. The run snapped a 13 2/3-innings scoreless
streak for Kluber, but he didn't make it easy. Center fielder Adam
Eaton tripled into the right field corner with one out and scored on
a wild pitch with two outs that didn't bounce far from the plate.
Eaton, who decided to go for it with first baseman Jose Abreu
hitting, dived headfirst just as catcher Roberto Perez lunged for
the tag. Plate umpire Ron Kulpa ruled him safe, and the ball fell
out of Perez's mitt.
"I blocked the ball," Perez said. "It was really close to the plate.
He's a very aggressive runner, and it surprised me that he came home
with Abreu hitting. But he took that chance, and he knocked the ball
out of my glove."
The play didn't earn Sale a win, but it got him off the hook for
what could have been a tough-luck loss.
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"It's just being aggressive," Eaton said. "Kluber is a heck of a
pitcher, and you're not going to get too many chances with a man on
third base there. I was just trying to make something happen. I was
probably out if he 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."
Sale said of the win, "We grinded that one out. The way we scored
that run with Eaton making the heads-up play, that's probably the
definition of grinding right there. I had my outfielders running all
over the outfield, too. We just played well as a team ... Sanchez
coming up huge there at the end. It's awesome."
Kluber had dominant stuff right from the first pitch. He struck out
five of the first six hitters he saw, seven of the first nine and
retired the first 10 in a row.
The Indians handed him a 1-0 lead in the third, when they
manufactured a run off Sale. Perez led off with a double to center
and scored on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Alexei Ramirez that
followed a sacrifice bunt.
NOTES: Indians C/INF Carlos Santana was a late scratch due to back
spasms. Manager Terry Francona said the team is just being cautious.
... Cleveland got OF Ryan Raburn back after he missed the previous
two games with left knee soreness. ... Indians INF Mike Aviles was
activated off the restricted list after missing nine games following
the news that his 4-year-old daughter, Adriana, was being treated
for leukemia at the Cleveland Clinic. Aviles, who started at third
base, was on the family medical emergency list from May 8-15 before
being transferred to the restricted list over the weekend. ... White
Sox manager Robin Ventura said confidence is the biggest reason for
his team's winning streak. "I think right now it's about playing
baseball, and I think these guys are confident when they go out
there that they're going to win a game," Ventura said.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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