White Sox roll over visiting Indians

Send a link to a friend  Share

[September 13, 2016]  CHICAGO -- Todd Frazier has known all along this season just how potent the Chicago White Sox offense can be.

As on-again, off-again as their power production has been at times, however, the White Sox have demonstrated the ability to pile up the runs. On Monday night, the White Sox happened to do it every time they stepped to the plate in an 11-4 win over the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

Frazier and Jose Abreu each drove in a pair of runs and Avisail Garcia homered and matched a career high to fuel Chicago, which scored in every inning for only the 20th time in major league baseball history.

"I think you're going to win a few ballgames if you score in every inning," said center fielder Adam Eaton, who homered and had an RBI single as the White Sox collected 16 hits.

The White Sox gave starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez plenty of run support after falling behind early. Eaton homered in the sixth inning before Tyler Saladino and Eaton had run-scoring hits in the seventh when the White Sox tacked onto their lead.

Frazier capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, his career-high 36th of the season. Frazier, like Eaton, wasn't aware the White Sox had scored in every inning until being told by reporters afterward.

"(It just shows) how relaxed we were. We were just getting after it," Frazier said. "I kind of knew the first five innings I remember seeing we had all runs up there. We kept building and building. It was just one of those things where you wanted to get up a lot more that game and keep going."

Gonzalez (4-6) was strong over 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander scattered six hits and surrendered three runs, but allowed only two hits over his final 4 2/3 innings. He allowed all three runs in the second when the Indians started with three straight hits, including an RBI single by Lonnie Chisenhall and a RBI double by Rajai Davis before Roberto Perez followed with a RBI single.

Mike Napoli then homered off relief pitcher Blake Smith in the eighth inning for the Indians.

Garcia snapped a 3-3 tie with a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning before Tim Anderson extended the White Sox's lead to 5-3 with a two-out RBI double.

"We swung the bats tonight," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "All the way through the lineup everybody seemed to be clicking."

Anderson's double chased Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, who allowed five runs (four earned) and scattered eight hits in just 3 2/3 innings. The White Sox continued to pile on as the Indians used seven pitchers in the loss.

"We can't let them score in every inning," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Carlos' stuff is too good for that and it's not just on Carlos. We didn't make plays, we made errors, we had cross-ups. That's about as bad of a game as we've played in a while. Hopefully, we get it out of our system tonight."

[to top of second column]

White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia (26) hits a solo home run against the Cleveland Indians during the fourth inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox added another run in the fifth inning when Abreu scored on a Kyle Crockett passed ball. Abreu walked to lead off the inning and advanced to third base on a Frazier single and an error by Chisenhall.

The White Sox, who used an Abreu RBI groundout in the first inning to take 1-0 lead, drew even with an Omar Narvaez sacrifice fly in the second inning and an Abreu RBI double in the third.

As it turned out, they were far from finished.

"It was pretty impressive to watch and be out there and be supportive for my team," Gonzalez said. "They really picked me up back there."

NOTES: Indians RHP Danny Salazar will miss three-to-four weeks after being diagnosed with a mild strain to his right forearm flexor musculature. Salazar underwent an MRI exam Monday and will get a platelet-rich plasma injection Tuesday. He won't throw for 10 days. Manager Terry Francona said it is too early to speculate whether Salazar could factor into the Indians' postseason pitching plans. "The biggest thing is to get him healthy," Francona said. ... Cleveland C Yan Gomes (separated right shoulder) was scheduled to catch nine innings Monday night at Double-A Akron and will DH on Tuesday before he is re-evaluated as to when he could return. ... RHP Zack Burdi, the White Sox's 2016 first-round draft pick, made an appearance at U.S. Cellular Field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Burdi was 1-0 and recorded a 3.32 ERA in 38 innings over 26 minor league appearances after finishing his collegiate career at Louisville.

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Back to top