By ,
Published May 03, 2016
(SportsNetwork.com) - Above .500 for the first time in nearly a year, the Chicago White Sox take aim at a seventh victory in a row on Tuesday evening when they resume a four-game set with the Cleveland Indians.
Chicago improved to 18-17 on the season with last night's 2-1 victory in 10 innings, winning the opener of this series on Carlos Sanchez's walk-off single.
Avisail Garcia began the 10th with a walk against Zach McAllister and Conor Gillaspie singled to put runners on first and second. Alexei Ramirez popped out and Geovany Soto struck out before Sanchez poked a slicing liner down the left-field line that got past a diving Zach Walters.
Pinch-runner J.B. Shuck scored the winning run as Garcia came out of the game after drawing the walk due to right knee inflammation, an ailment that actually crept up on Sunday. His status for this game is unknown and the right fielder is batting .338 on the year with four homers and 17 RBI.
The victory put the White Sox above .500 for the first time since they were 31-30 on June 4 of last year.
Prior to the extra-inning dramatics, Chicago starter Chris Sale and reigning Cy Young winner Corey Kluber combined for 19 strikeouts over their 17 innings of work.
"They were great," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Everything as advertised."
Sale struck out seven and allowed a run on four hits and two walks over eight innings. Kluber, fresh off his dominating 18-strikeout performance over the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday, fanned 12 more. He surrendered a run on five hits and a walk over nine frames.
"He was so special," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Kluber. "He followed up that performance the other night just with a better breaking ball tonight."
Jose Ramirez had two hits and the lone RBI for Cleveland, which lost its second in a row.
Chicago turns to Jose Quintana tonight and the left-hander is coming off his first victory in a month.
Quintana halted a three-decision skid with a 4-2 victory in Milwaukee on Wednesday, limiting the Brewers to a run on four hits and one walk over seven- plus innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts. He recorded his first win since April 14 versus the Indians and improved to 2-3 on the year with a 4.39 earned run average.
"I feel good. I feel a lot of confidence," Quintana said.
The 26-year-old held Cleveland to one unearned run and three hits over six innings to win a 4-1 decision earlier this season, leaving him a perfect 4-0 with a 2.94 ERA in 12 career matchups with Cleveland. All but two of those have been starts.
Trevor Bauer aims for his first victory since April 15 over Chicago when he toes the rubber tonight for the Indians.
Bauer beat the White Sox on that day with six innings of two-run ball, fanning eight. He then faced a hosting Chicago club again five days later and got a no-decision despite seven scoreless frames of four-hit ball in which he struck out seven. That left Bauer 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA in four career meetings with the White Sox.
That no-decision also began Bauer's current five-start winless stretch in which Cleveland is 1-4. Bauer has one loss over that span and struggled in back-to-back outings before a solid no-decision on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-hander scattered a run, four hits and three walks over 7 1/3 innings, striking out 10.
Bauer is 2-1 with a 3.67 ERA this season through seven starts.
The Indians have won six of their past 10 against the White Sox, but did lose two of three in Chicago from April 20-22.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/white-sox-go-after-seventh-consecutive-win