Ramirez's 7 RBIs carry Indians past White Sox

[September 25, 2019]    Jose Ramirez belted a grand slam and a three-run home run in his return to the lineup from injury and Mike Clevinger pitched seven shutout innings to help keep the visiting Cleveland Indians' playoff push alive with an 11-0 victory against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

With the win, Cleveland (93-64) remained one-half game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for possession of the second American League wild-card spot, as the Rays defeated the New York Yankees in 12 innings Tuesday.

White Sox starting pitcher Carson Fulmer (51) delivers the ball in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

The Indians also remained four games behind the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, who won at Detroit.

Ramirez provided Clevinger with all the offense he needed just five batters into the game, drilling a 3-1 pitch from White Sox right-hander Carson Fulmer over the right field wall for a grand slam. The game marked Ramirez's first action since Aug. 24, when he broke the hamate bone in his right hand. Ramirez underwent surgery two days later and was activated from the injured list before Tuesday's game, about one week ahead of his earliest projected initial return.

Ramirez went 2-for-3 with seven RBIs as Cleveland outhit Chicago 12-6. Yasiel Puig had three hits, while Roberto Perez and Mike Freeman had two apiece.

Clevinger improved to 13-3 while earning his first win against the White Sox (68-88) this season, scattering five hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts in seven innings. In three starts versus Chicago in 2019, Clevinger has yielded two earned runs in 21 innings, a 0.86 ERA.

Fulmer (1-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on two hits in one inning with two walks and one strikeout. Lefty Hector Santiago followed with four innings of nine-hit, seven-run relief. In addition to Ramirez's three-run shot, Santiago yielded a solo home run to Perez as well as Oscar Mercado's three-run blast.

Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson, vying for the AL batting title, went 1-for-3 and remains atop the league leaderboard with a .334 average. Zack Collins had two hits for the White Sox.

Chicago leads the season series with Cleveland 9-8 with two meetings remaining.

--Field Level Media

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