Beckham helps White Sox beat Indians 7-2
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two seasons ago, Ubaldo Jimenez was a 19-game winner, now he is a work in progress.
Gordon Beckham snapped out of a slump with three hits and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 on Tuesday.
Shelley Duncan connected for Cleveland, snapping the team's 11-game homerless streak. Jimenez (2-2) issued six walks in 4 2-3 innings, and was charged with seven runs, four earned, and eight hits in another subpar outing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Ubaldo is working on some mechanical issues and we saw some progress today, but he still didn't throw enough strikes," said Indians manager Manny Acta. "It's going take a couple of outings, we felt like we saw some improvement today and he is going to continue to work on it during his side work."
Jimenez said he is working on mechanical issues.
"My throwing (right) shoulder is probably too open. I am trying to create more torque and power out of it," said Jimenez.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Beckham was mired in 0-for-10 slide and was batting just .153 before he belted a solo homer in the third to give Chicago a 2-1 lead on a rainy, overcast night at U.S. Cellular Field. He also singled in a run in the fifth.
"(Beckham) swung well, it's part of believing in yourself and keep working at it," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He hasn't gone down that path of not believing in himself."
A.J. Pierzynski also had a solo homer for Chicago, which is 3-0 against Cleveland this season. Chris Sale (3-1) allowed one run and three hits in six crisp innings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Steady rain postponed the start by 56 minutes but storms had passed through by early evening and the game started under cloudy, but dry conditions.
Beckham sparked a four-run inning with his leadoff drive on a 3-1 pitch from Jimenez. Paul Konerko made it 3-1 with a bases-loaded walk, Alex Rios drove in a run with a fielder's choice and Dayan Viciedo had an RBI infield single.
"The way they swung the bats tonight was fun to watch," he said. "The funnest part of tonight was watching him (Beckham) completely go off," said Sale.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With smoke hovering around the infield from fireworks that were set off after Beckham's home run, Indians third baseman Jason Donald lost Alejandro De Aza's ball before having it drop right in front of him. De Aza ended up with a double.
"I probably had a different angle than him. I don't know what he was looking at but I did see all the way from where I was so maybe he was a different angle with the smoke," Acta said.
Duncan hit a solo drive off Will Ohman in the seventh. He also doubled and scored on Jason Kipnis' two-out double in the second, giving Cleveland a 1-0 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pierzynski then hit his fifth homer in the bottom half, driving an 0-2 pitch over the wall in right.
The Indians loaded the bases in the ninth, but Hector Santiago got Lou Marson to ground out to end the game. Duncan and Kipnis each had two hits for the Tribe.
New Cleveland outfielder Johnny Damon joined the team in Chicago on Tuesday and is likely to be in Wednesday's lineup.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Indians announced they had purchased Damon's contract on Tuesday and made roster room by designating infielder Jose Lopez for assignment.
Now in his 18th major league season, Damon has 2,723 hits and a .286 career batting average. He is ranked third among active players in runs scored with 1,643.
The 38-year-old Damon, who signed with the Indians last month, has spent the last few weeks at the club's facility in Goodyear, Ariz.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NOTES: Indians RHP Josh Tomlin (1-2, 5.48 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Wednesday's Game 2 against Philip Humber (1-1, 4.66 ERA). Humber threw a perfect game on April 21 against Seattle and was the loser in a 10-3 setback against Boston last week. ... Tuesday's game was the first of 15 consecutive games against the AL Central for the White Sox.