LDN - Sports

White Sox pound Tomlin, Indians

[April 14, 2017] CLEVELAND -- It only took one pitch for the Chicago White Sox to take a lead they never relinquished.

Tim Anderson homered on the first pitch of the game, and the White Sox rolled to a 10-4 rout of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night at Progressive Field.

The White Sox won the last two games of their three-game series against the defending American League champions.

"That's an extremely talented club over there, but we had a lot of good at bats, got some good pitching, had some things go our way and we came away with a series win," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said.

The White Sox scored seven runs in the first two innings and roughed up so many Cleveland pitchers that Indians manager Terry Francona had infielder Mike Martinez take the mound. Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit.

"I don't like doing that," Francona said. "It's no fun to lose, but using up your pitching makes it worse."

Anderson and Matt Davidson homered for the White Sox, and Avisail Garcia had three hits and three RBIs.

"This was a big win for us," Garcia said. "They've got a good team over there, but we just need to keep working and playing like this."

Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes homered for the Indians, who have lost five of their last six games.

Reliever Anthony Swarzak (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win after starter Miguel Gonzalez was unable to finish the fifth inning. Handed a 7-1 lead after two innings, Gonzalez was removed from the game with two on and two outs in the fifth after Cleveland cut the lead to 7-3.

"I wanted him to get (the minimum five innings to qualify for a win), but when the tying run starts inching towards the plate, you have to put the team ahead of the individual," Renteria said.

The White Sox made quick work of Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin (0-2), pounding him for seven runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings, matching the shortest outing of Tomlin's career.

Anderson hit Tomlin's first pitch over the left field wall for his first home run, which opened the floodgates for a five-run first inning. Anderson's blast was followed by a three-run homer by Davidson later in the inning.

"It was nice to see Timmy get us going on the first pitch of the game, and then everyone kept the line moving. That was a great first inning," Renteria said.

Yolmer Sanchez doubled and scored on a single by Omar Narvaez to make it 5-0 before Tomlin finally retired Leury Garcia, the ninth batter of the inning, on a groundout for the third out.

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White Sox catcher Omar Narvaez (38) and pitcher Tommy Kahnle (48) celebrate a 10-4 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

"Everything (Tomlin threw) was leaking back over the middle of the plate, and they were ready to hit from pitch one," Francona said. "It was quick, and it was a lot."

Cleveland got a run back in the bottom of the first inning. Francisco Lindor walked, went to third on a double by Brantley and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Ramirez.

But the White Sox went to work again on Tomlin in the second inning. Melky Cabrera walked, Jose Abreu singled, and both runners moved up a base on a flyout to deep center by Cody Asche. Garcia singled to center on Tomlin's 42nd and final pitch of the game, scoring both runners to make it 7-1.

The Indians knocked Gonzalez out of the game with two runs in the fifth inning. Brantley hit a solo home run and Lonnie Chisenhall added an RBI double to make it 7-3.

Gonzalez pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

"My fastball command wasn't there," Gonzalez said. "I was falling behind hitters too much, but our offense came out swinging. It's fun to watch them play."

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Indians activated OF Lonnie Chisenhall (sprained right shoulder) off the disabled list. To make room on the roster, OF Tyler Naquin was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. ... Indians 2B Jason Kipnis (right shoulder inflammation) will miss a couple days of his rehab assignment with Double-A Akron due to a bruised left hand. Kipnis was hit in the hand by a pitched ball in a game Wednesday night. ... White Sox 3B Todd Frazier, who is down with the flu, missed his second consecutive game. ... Chicago placed C Geovany Soto (right elbow inflammation) on the disabled list. To replace Soto on the roster, the White Sox purchased the contract of C Kevan Smith from Triple-A Charlotte. ... OF Melky Cabrera will be placed on the paternity list on Friday, and the White Sox will recall OF Willy Garcia from Triple-A Charlotte.

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