Asdrubal Cabrera drove
in five runs and Jeanmar Gomez won his fifth straight start for
Cleveland as the Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 11-2 on Thursday
night to remain in second place in the AL Central.
Gomez
(5-2) gave up one earned run and four hits over six innings. Since
being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 30, the right-hander is
5-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
Cabrera hit a three-run
homer and tied his career-high for RBIs. Kosuke Fukudome added three
RBIs and Travis Hafner singled for his 1,000th career hit as Cleveland
moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox.
Fukudome's two-out, two-run single off Phillip Humber (9-9) in the fifth inning broke a 2-2 tie.
Fukudome
had driven Humber's second pitch of the game over the wall in right for
his fifth homer. Four pitches later, Jason Kipnis hit his seventh for a
2-0 lead.
It was the fourth time in Indians
history and only the second time at home that Cleveland opened a game
with two homers. Graig Nettles and Vada Pinson did it on June 19, 1971,
at old Cleveland Stadium.
Cabrera's three-run
homer in the seventh was his 25th of the season. That set an Indians
record for a shortstop, surpassing Jhonny Peralta's 24 in 2005. Cabrera
added a two-run single in the eighth.
An error by Cabrera at shortstop helped Chicago tie it at 2 in the fifth.
With
two outs and runners on first and second, Juan Pierre singled home
Alejandro De Aza. Cabrera took the throw from right fielder Fukudome and
threw wildly trying to get Brent Morel at third. Third baseman Jack
Hannahan tracked down the ball and fired home, but Morel slid in safely
with an unearned run.
The White Sox almost
caught a break in the bottom half. Humber had retired 14 straight until
Hannahan drew a two-out walk and apparently scored on a slicing drive
down the left-field line by Ezequiel Carrera that looked like an RBI
triple. Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen argued that a fan reached over a
railing and touched the ball. The umpires huddled, agreed, and sent
Hannahan back to third, ruling that Carrera got a ground-rule double.
Fukudome's soft line drive to left scored them both anyway.
Humber
gave up seven runs and eight hits over six innings. Fukudome went 2 for
3 against him to improve to 4 for 10 against the right-hander since
being acquired by Cleveland from the Chicago Cubs in July.
Earlier
this season, Fukudome gave even more pain to Humber. On Aug. 18 in
Chicago, he lined a ball off the pitcher's face, just above the right
eye. Humber was on the disabled list until Sept. 2.
Notes:
Chicago won the season series 11-7. ... White Sox SS Omar Vizquel and
Cleveland DH Jim Thome exchanged the lineup cards - a first for both
former Indians teammates who have a combined 44 seasons and 5,388 games
in the majors. "I hope it's not the last time we see these guys on the
same field somewhere," Guillen said. "The next stop for both is the Hall
of Fame, but they can still play." ... The Indians will salute Thome on
Friday for surpassing 600 career homers and his other contributions.
Before Thursday's game, Acta said the 41-year-old Thome would start at
DH in Hafner's place Friday. "Even if Hafner hits three homers tonight,
Jimmy is playing," Acta said. "Well, maybe three homers would change my
mind." ... The last time the Indians hit two homers to open a game,
Grady Sizemore and Casey Blake did it in Kansas City on May 23, 2007.
... RHP Justin Masterson (12-10) will oppose RHP Carl Pavano (8-13) on
Friday night when Cleveland opens a four-game home series against
Minnesota. ... The White Sox open a three-game series at home against
Kansas City on Friday with RHP Zach Stewart (2-5) facing Royals LHP
Bruce Chen (11-8).
