Cleveland, OH – Paul Konerko didn't let Jake Peavy's tremendous start go to waste.
The White Sox veteran first baseman clubbed a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth and Chicago avoided being swept by taking a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the finale of a three-game set at Progressive Field.
Alejandro De Aza added a solo shot to help back Peavy (2-1), who struck out 11 Indians while giving up just five hits and one run over seven innings. Peavy improved to 4-0 in his last five starts against Cleveland.
Addison Reed worked around a two-out walk to earn his fourth save of the season. It's Chicago's first road win of the year, avoiding its first 0-6 start away from home since 1968.
Brett Myers (0-2) allowed six hits and kept the White Sox off the board for five innings, but couldn't keep Konerko in the park in the sixth. He has surrendered eight home runs in 16 1/3 innings this season.
Michael Bourn went 3-for-4 and hit a leadoff homer in the first, but left the game in the eighth after suffering a right-hand injury while sliding head- first into first base.
Myers had been shelled in his first two appearances of the season -- giving up seven runs in both -- but Bourn's homer staked him to an early lead and he cruised through the first five innings on 65 pitches.
"He threw the ball really well," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. "That's the guy that you are looking for."
However, the right-handed hurler found trouble in the sixth after issuing a two-out walk to Adam Dunn. Konerko came to the plate and jacked Myers' fastball into the left-field seats for a 2-1 White Sox lead.
That's all the support Peavy would need. He recorded seven strikeouts through the first four innings, had 10 after fanning Yan Gomes and Asdrubal Cabrera in the bottom of the sixth and capped his afternoon by getting Ryan Raburn to go down swinging in the seventh.
"Defintely knew I had to bare down," said Peavy. "Knew it was going to be tight. Fortunately, we came out on the right side of things."
De Aza provided the White Sox with an insurance run in the top of the eighth, lifting a solo homer into right to give Chicago a 3-1 advantage.
Cleveland didn't have an extra-base hit after the first inning. Carlos Santana drew a pinch-hit walk in the ninth, but Reed got Jason Giambi to fly out to deep center to end the game.
Game Notes
It was Bourn's sixth career lead-off homer ... Cleveland was seeking its first sweep of the White Sox since April 16-18, 2010 ... Indians' Nick Swisher had a 20-game hitting streak at Progressive Field snapped ... Giambi was making his season debut after starting the campaign on the disabled list with a strained back. He went 0-for-4.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.