CLEVELAND — AL MVP Jose Abreu grounded out with the bases loaded to blunt a ninth-inning rally against Cleveland closer James Karinchak, giving Shane Bieber and the Indians a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.
Bieber (6-3) allowed two earned runs in seven innings, striking out seven to beat the AL Central-leading White Sox for the second time this season.
Down 6-3, Chicago rallied in the ninth. Zack Collins and Nick Madrigal hit RBI singles off Karinchak and a walk loaded the bases for Abreu, who grounded out to shortstop.
Austin Hedges’ two-run homer off Dylan Cease (3-2) landed on the porch in left field and gave the Indians a 5-3 lead in the fourth.
José Ramírez’s second double of the evening drove in Amed Rosario later in the frame, charging Cease with all six runs in 3 1/3 innings. Ramírez was removed from the game in the eighth as a precaution due to dehydration.
Harold Ramírez had two hits with two RBIs and a stolen base for Cleveland, which has won two in a row to pull within 2 1/2 games of Chicago.
The teams had split their first 10 games this season, alternating victories until Cleveland prevailed in the nightcap of a doubleheader Monday.
The White Sox went up 3-2 on an unusual play in the second when speedy Billy Hamilton scored after doubling home Jake Lamb and Zack Collins. Hamilton never stopped running, taking third on a throw to the plate and scoring on Hedges’ fielding error at the plate.
Josh Naylor and Harold Ramírez gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in the first with back-to-back RBI singles.
Chicago manager Tony La Russa remained two wins behind John McGraw’s 2,763 for second place on the career list.
The Indians played their final home game under 40% crowd restrictions set by the Ohio Department of Health. Progressive Field will now be open to its full capacity of 34,830.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez (left pectoral rupture) and OF Luis Robert (right hip flexor tear) have not been ruled out for the year, but general manager Rick Hahn said the timelines for their projected returns won’t even be determined until July.
Indians: OF Jordan Luplow (left ankle sprain) is eligible to be activated from the 10-day injured list on June 5. Luplow has been bothered by ankle pain since spring training, but a recent MRI revealed no structural issues.
THREADING YARN
White Sox LHP Garrett Crochet — the No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 draft — is widely viewed as a future closer, allowing one run in his first 21 2/3 innings in the majors. La Russa isn’t asking too much of the 21-year-old reliever, who was on the injured list with an upper back strain from April 29 to May 7. “We’ve tried to be careful not to bring him back two games in a row,” La Russa said. “You can’t ask a pitcher about that because they’re going to say, ‘Yeah, I’m ready.’”
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Lance Lynn (6-1, 1.37 ERA) has the top ERA in the AL among pitchers with 50 innings, but is 2 1/3 innings shy of qualifying for the official league lead.
Indians: RHP Eli Morgan (0-1, 20.25 ERA) makes his second big league appearance in the four-game series finale. He allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings Friday against Toronto.
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