CHICAGO — Not even another dominant start by Corey Kluber could stop the Chicago White Sox. Of course, having Chris Sale on the mound can help keep the momentum going.
Carlos Sanchez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning Monday night to give the streaking White Sox a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians after a sparkling pitchers’ duel between Sale and Kluber.
Sale certainly relished pitching against Kluber, who struck out 12 in nine innings. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed five hits and one run while walking one for the Indians.
"It’s fun. Clearly you want to happen what happened, but it keeps you in the game," Sale said. "Both of us are just firing in there. It seemed like every time I sat down I got back up, and probably the same thing for him."
Avisail Garcia drew a leadoff walk in the 10th on four pitches from Zach McAllister (0-2). Conor Gillaspie singled and, two outs later, Sanchez drove in pinch-runner J.B. Shuck from second with a base hit to left field that gave Chicago its sixth straight victory.
Zach Duke (2-2) worked a hitless inning for the win on a night that will be remembered for what Sale and Kluber did on the mound.
"They were great. I don’t think it’s fun to face either guy, so it was everything as advertised," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said.
Kluber didn’t allow a baserunner until the fourth, nor did the White Sox get a ball into the outfield until that inning.
The right-hander was making his first appearance since his outing Wednesday against St. Louis when he struck out 18 and allowed one hit in eight scoreless innings for his first victory of the season. In that game, Kluber matched Bob Feller’s team record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game, and became one of five pitchers in baseball history to strike out 18 or more without walking a batter.
"Oh boy, he was so special," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said.
Just like Kluber, Sale was coming off a strong start — he allowed two runs while striking out 11 in eight innings Tuesday at Milwaukee. And like Kluber, the Chicago left-hander was in complete control Monday, tossing eight innings and giving up one run on four hits while striking out seven.
Jose Ramirez had two hits and drove in a run for Cleveland. Mike Aviles, just activated from the restricted list, was 0 for 4.
Cleveland took the lead against Sale in the third on Ramirez’s sacrifice fly.
Kluber, meanwhile, picked up where he left off in his previous start. He struck out the first five Chicago batters and seven of nine, retiring his first 10 until Melky Cabrera’s single with one out in the fourth.
"I was getting ahead of guys," Kluber said.
Chicago’s first threat came in the sixth when Adam Eaton tripled with one out. Cabrera struck out, but then with Jose Abreu at the plate, Eaton scored on Kluber’s wild pitch to tie it.
That was all the scoring until the 10th, when Sanchez delivered to keep Chicago happy.
"If you smile as a team, you’re going to win as a team, and I truly do believe that," Eaton said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Indians: 1B Carlos Santana (back spasms) was scratched about two hours before the first pitch. He was replaced in the lineup by Brandon Moss. … C Yan Gomes (left knee) played his scheduled five innings at Triple-A Columbus.
White Sox: After walking in the 10th, Garcia was tended to by a trainer and Ventura before being replaced by Shuck. Ventura said Garcia had knee inflammation.
TWO IN A ROW
Kluber has 30 strikeouts in his last two outings. According to STATS, he tied Sam McDowell (May 1968) for second-most in team history over a two-game span.
STILL GOING
With his fourth-inning single, Abreu stretched his hitting streak to 13 games.
UP NEXT
Cleveland RHP Trevor Bauer (2-1, 3.67 ERA) faces Chicago LHP Jose Quintana (2-3, 4.39). Both have been strong against the opposition — the Indians are 3-1 when Bauer starts against Chicago, and Quintana is 4-0 with a 2.94 ERA against Cleveland.
