Chi. White Sox 4 at Cleveland 5 - Recap

CLEVELAND -- Tyler Naquin's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning drove in the winning run as the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 Thursday night at Progressive Field.

Abraham Almonte led off the bottom of the ninth with a double to center field off Jacob Turner (1-2). Almonte went to third on a passed ball by catcher Dioner Navarro.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona sent up Naquin as a pinch hitter for Roberto Perez. Naquin then hit a line drive into left-center field that was caught by center fielder Adam Eaton, but Almonte beat his throw to the plate to score the winning run.

Andrew Miller (7-1) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the win.

Trailing 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Indians tied it with a rally started with Mike Napoli's one out walk by reliever Nate Jones. Napoli went to second on a wild pitch. Jones struck Carlos Santana for the second out, but Jose Ramirez bounced a single through the right side to score Napoli with the tying run.

The White Sox had an early 3-0 lead on a three-run double by Justin Morneau in the first inning off Cleveland starter Danny Salazar, who was removed from the game after a 34-pitch, three-walk, three-run first inning.

White Sox starter Carlos Rodon continued his mastery over Cleveland. Rodon pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He has a 1.93 ERA in eight career appearances, seven starts, against Cleveland.

Kyle Crockett relieved Salazar and pitched a scoreless second inning. Mike Clevinger, started the third and pitched four innings, allowing one run on two hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.

Trailing 3-1 after the fifth inning, the Indians got a run closer in the sixth. Perez led off the inning with a single. Rajai Davis flied out, but Jason Kipnis hit a line drive that stuck in the left-field wall for a ground-rule double, forcing Perez to stop at third.

Francisco Lindor followed with a single, scoring Perez to cut the Chicago lead to 3-2. Napoli struck out for the second out, but Rodon hit Santana with a pitch, loading the bases.

Ramirez hit a sharp ground ball into the hole at short, but shortstop Tim Anderson made a dazzling play to throw Ramirez out at first by a step, ending the inning.

The White Sox extended their lead in the seventh inning. Anderson led off with a double, knocking Clevinger out of the game. A sacrifice bunt by J.B. Shuck moved Anderson to third and he scored on a single by Omar Narvaez, giving the White Sox a 4-2 lead.

Cleveland countered with a run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out Almonte doubled into the left-center field gap. Almonte then scored on a two-out double by Davis and the White Sox lead was down to 4-3.

Salazar was activated off the disabled list to start the game, but didn't stay in it long. Salazar pitched one inning, faced seven batters, walked three of them, then gave up a three-run double to Morneau. Salazar and the Indians were losing 3-0 before Salazar got the second out of the game.

After he got the third out of the inning, Salazar was removed from the game and sent to the bullpen, where he did more throwing. In one inning, the shortest start of his career, Salazar gave up three runs on one hit and three walks.

Salazar was knocked out of the game so quickly, the Indians didn't have time to get a long reliever warmed up. So Crockett pitched the second inning, giving Clevinger enough time to warmup in the bullpen. Clevinger, who was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to assume Salazar's spot in the rotation when Salazar was placed on the disabled list Aug. 2, started the third inning.

In his first three innings, Clevinger held Chicago hitless and scoreless, retiring 12 of the first 14 men he faced.

It's been a strange year for Salazar, who pitched well enough in the first half of the season to be selected to the American League All-Star team. He did not pitch in the All-Star game, however, at the Indians' request, over concerns about Salazar's elbow. Shortly after the break, he was placed on the disabled list with an inflamed elbow.

In five June starts, Salazar had a 1.91 ERA. In six starts since, he has an 8.64 ERA.

Rodon, staked to a 3-0 first inning lead, held the Indians scoreless through the first four innings. He was helped by his defense, which turned double plays in four of the first five innings.

In the fifth inning Carlos Santana led off with a double, and scored on a single by Jose Ramirez, cutting Chicago's lead to 3-1.

NOTES: Indians RHP Josh Tomlin is expected to rejoin the team Friday and is scheduled to start Saturday's game against Toronto. Tomlin was placed on the Family Emergency List on Wednesday and returned to his home in Tyler, Texas. ... RHP Danny Salazar was activated off the disabled list to start Thursday's game. Salazar had been on the disabled list since Aug. 2 with right elbow inflammation. ... White Sox 2B Brett Lawrie was pulled out of a game at Double-A Birmingham on Wednesday because of an issue with his quad. Lawrie, who is on the disabled list with a pulled hamstring, was on a rehab assignment at Birmingham. ... White Sox RHP David Robertson, who had 34 saves last year and picked up his 30th on Wednesday, is the fourth closer in team history to have back-to-back 30-save seasons. The others are Bobby Thigpen (1988-91), Bobby Jenks (2006-08) and Keith Foulke (2000-01). ... White Sox RHP James Shields, who will start Friday versus Oakland, was 2-3 with a 1.78 ERA in three starts in July. He is 0-2 with a 20.25 ERA in three starts in August.