LDN - Sports

Santana's ninth-inning HR lifts Indians past White Sox

[June 18, 2016] CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians took a "punch in the stomach" in the top of the ninth inning Friday night, then responded by throwing a haymaker of their own in the bottom of the ninth.

Carlos Santana's home run leading off the bottom of the ninth gave the Indians a 3-2 victory at Progressive Field.

Santana belted his 14th home run over the center field wall on an 0-2 pitch from Nate Jones (2-2).

"Nate threw him three sliders in a row, then tried to throw him something different, and he got him," said Chicago manager Robin Ventura.

The win went to Cleveland closer Cody Allen (2-3), who blew a save in the top of the ninth.

The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Indians, who remain in first place in the American League's Central Division.

"Emotions were swinging back and forth in the ninth," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. "We got punched in the stomach a bit."

The Indians were two outs from a 2-1 victory when Brett Lawrie doubled to center field against Allen with one out in the ninth. Avisail Garcia then bounced a double off the center field wall, scoring Lawrie with the tying run.

It was the second blown save of the season for Allen, who has 13 saves, but Santana's walk-off homer took the sting out of the blown save.

"That's a tough one, especially after we fought back to tie it in the ninth," Ventura said. "But Santana is a dangerous hitter and he got one on the barrel."

Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth.

With the score tied at 1, Michael Martinez led off with a single to right field against Jose Quintana. Rajai Davis struck out, but Jason Kipnis drove a double to center field, scoring the speedy Martinez from first base, giving the Indians a 2-1 lead.

"This game was a good test for us," Kipnis said. "They didn't take the lead in the ninth, they only tied us. So we weren't losing, and it only took us one batter to win it in the ninth. It's always nice to have the last say in the game."

It was another tough-luck outing for Quintana, who hasn't won since May 8. In seven starts since then, he is 0-6 with a 3.86 ERA. In those seven starts the White Sox have scored a total of seven runs. Quintana's six losses in that span the White Sox have scored one or no runs.

Quintana pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and seven hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

"He pitched great. He just made the one mistake to Kipnis," said Ventura. "But other than that they didn't really hit him hard."

Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer threw 115 pitches in seven innings, giving up one run and four hits with nine strikeouts and three walks.

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Indians designated hitter Carlos Santana (41) is greeted at home plate by teammates after he hit a game winning solo home run during the ninth inning at Progressive Field. The Indians beat the White Sox 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

"He had a lot of deep counts and his pitch count was high, but he was still really effective and his stuff wasn't dropping off, so there was no reason to take him out," Francona said.

Bauer didn't get a decision, but in his last four starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA, 28 strikeouts, eight walks and 12 hits in 29 2/3 innings.

Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Lindor. The White Sox tied it with a tainted run in the third.

After Bauer retired the first batter of the inning, Adam Eaton hit a sinking liner to right. Right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall raced in to attempt a catch but slipped and fell as the ball sailed over his head and rolled to the wall. Eaton raced around to third base with a gift triple and then scored the tying run when Jose Abreu grounded out to Lindor at short.

"Lonnie came in hard, which was good, but he just slipped," Francona said. "It cost us a run, but there' nothing you can do."

Quintana settled down after the first inning. After giving up a one-out single in the second, he retired the next 11 batters in a row.

NOTES: Indians OF Michael Brantley, who has only played in 11 games this year and has been on the disabled list since May 14 in his slow recovery from offseason right shoulder surgery, still isn't close to returning. He's currently hitting softly tossed baseballs in the cage. ... The Indians have signed 1B/OF Will Benson, their first-round pick (14th overall) in the June draft. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound, 18-year-old Benson will report to the Indians team in the Arizona Rookie League. ... The White Sox outrighted INF/OF Jerry Sands to Triple-A Charlotte. He was designated for assignment on June 7. ... The White Sox also requested waivers on RHP Mat Latos for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release. He was designated for assignment on June 9.

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