Cleveland, OH – The Indians have everyone in Cleveland saying Roll Tribe.
Ryan Raburn smacked two homers and drove in four as the red-hot Indians won their season-high eighth straight game, a 6-1 triumph over the Chicago White Sox to sweep a four-game set.
Cleveland, though, isn't even the hottest team in its own division. The Kansas City Royals have won nine consecutive games.
Justin Masterson (13-7) fanned seven and surrendered just a run on five hits and three walks over 6 2/3 frames for the Tribe, who are a season-best 12 games over .500.
"We played well as a team," said Masterson. "Really, the story is about Ryan Raburn. Doing his thing today, that was pretty cool to see."
Drew Stubbs tallied three hits and scored twice, while Carlos Santana racked up three hits as well to go along with a run scored in the win.
Chris Sale (6-11) fanned six, but allowed five runs on 10 hits over five innings for Chicago, which dropped its seventh straight contest.
"Right now, they're (the Indians) swinging it. Chris probably wasn't sharp as he's been early but they ... got to him today," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said.
The Indians plated a run in the second, two in the third and two more in the fifth to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
A two-out RBI single off the bat of Mark Reynolds staked the Tribe to an early advantage in the second.
Stubbs dribbled one down the third-base line to begin the third for a single and Conor Gillaspie's throwing error allowed Stubbs to advance to second. After Nick Swisher grounded out, Raburn launched an opposite-field, two-run shot that just crept over the wall in right field to make it 3-0.
Stubbs and Swisher led off the fifth with consecutive singles and Stubbs came home when Raburn sent a bouncer to third that went off the glove of Gillaspie and into shallow center field. Swisher crossed the plate on Asdrubal Cabrera's sacrifice fly to deep center and with the bases loaded and one away later in the inning.
Alejandro De Aza got the White Sox on the board in the sixth with a leadoff homer into the seats in right to cut the gap to 5-1, but they were unable to whittle the deficit any further despite an opportunity in the seventh.
Chicago had the bags full and one away in the frame, but Masterson struck out Tyler Flowers and Rich Hill, who took over for Masterson, got De Aza to ground out to second and end the threat.
Raburn cracked his second homer of the day in the home seventh with a shot into left-center.
Game Notes
Cleveland was last 12 games over .500 on June 2, 2011 ... The Indians were 3- for-8 with runners in scoring position, while Chicago finished 1-for-4 with RISP.