Indians 6, White Sox 3
CLEVELAND -- Josh Tomlin pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Lonnie Chisenhall homered, doubled, and drove in three runs as the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Sunday at Progressive Field.
The right-handed Tomlin (6-2) matched his season-high with eight strikeouts as the Indians won two of the three games in the series. Right-hander Cody Allen pitched the ninth inning to pick up his 31st save.
The Indians took a 3-0 lead in the second inning off left-hander John Danks (7-13). With one out catcher Yan Gomes singled. Right fielder Chisenhall then hit a 1-0 pitch into the seats in right field for his seventh home run, giving Cleveland a 2-0 lead.
Center fielder Abraham Almonte followed Chisenhall's homer with a double. One out later shortstop Francisco Lindor stroked a single to left field, scoring Almonte to make it 3-0.
The Indians broke it open with three more runs in the sixth inning off right-hander Zach Putnam. Putnam relieved Danks to start the sixth inning. Danks, who is 5-15 in his career against the Indians, pitched five innings, throwing 110 pitches and giving up three runs on seven hits.
Gomes led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to center field, and he scored on a double to left field by Chisenhall, giving the Indians a 4-0 lead. Almonte flied out, but Chisenhall was able to advance to third.
Second baseman Jason Kipnis walked, and Lindor hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Chisenhall to extend the lead to 5-0. Left fielder Michael Brantley followed with a double to center field, scoring Kipnis to make it 6-0.
Tomlin allowed base runners in every inning, but he was able to keep the White Sox off the scoreboard. After giving up a two-out double in the sixth inning, Tomlin was relieved by right-hander Zach McAllister, who struck out third baseman Mike Olt to end the inning.
Tomlin pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings on four hits, with eight strikeouts and three walks.
McAllister ran into trouble in the seventh inning, when the White Sox scored two runs to narrow the Indians' lead. With one out McAllister walked No. 9 hitter Carlos Sanchez. Center fielder Adam Eaton doubled to left field, moving Sanchez to third. First baseman Jose Abreu flared a single into shallow right field, scoring Sanchez and Eaton to cut the Indians' lead to 6-2.
Left-hander Kyle Crockett relieved McAllister and got left fielder Melky Cabrera to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Chicago scored its third run in the eighth inning off right-hander Bryan Shaw. Right fielder Trayce Thompson, leading off the inning, doubled into the left-field corner. Thompson went to third on a groundout by designated hitter Avisail Garcia, and scored on a groundout by shortstop Alexei Ramirez.
NOTES: After making his first 63 major league appearances as a starter, Indians RHP Trevor Bauer made his first relief appearance Saturday night, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. ... Cleveland's Triple-A Columbus affiliate won the International League championship Saturday with a 3-0 win over Indianapolis. ... White Sox RHP David Robertson is just the third pitcher to have 30-plus saves in his first season with the team. The others are Dustin Hermanson in 2005 and Bob James in 1985. ... Heading into Sunday, White Sox pitchers led the American League with 88 quality starts.