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White Sox Fri Jun 04 2010
Indians Handle White Sox in Series Opener
The White Sox were looking good through five innings Friday night. John Danks was pitching like the frontline starter he'd been all season, keeping the last-place Indians off balance while the Sox lineup got into the Cleveland bullpen. But that didn't last.
INDIANS 10, WHITE SOX 1
After scattering four hits -- all singles -- and a walk in five scoreless innings, striking out five, Danks fell completely apart in the top of the sixth. He faced seven batters in the inning -- double, walk, single, double, fielder's choice, double, single -- before leaving, shell-shocked, with Chicago in a 4-1 hole.
There was more where that came from, as Cleveland beat up a little more on Sergio Santos and Scott Linebrink and romped to a 10-1 win in the first of three games this weekend at U.S. Cellular Field.
Star of the night
Jhonny Peralta, owner of perhaps the oddest first name in baseball, never quite fulfilled his promise as an Indians shortstop prospect, but he has his moments these days since moving to third base. Tonight he was at the center of each of Cleveland's three outbursts, going 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs.
Peralta's two-run double in the sixth, inches from the top of the left-field wall, was the first blow to stagger Danks and push the visitors ahead. An inning later, he doubled to the wall in left-center, just out of the reach of center-fielder Alex Rios, to bring home another two runs. In the eighth, after a two-run homer by Austin Kearns, Peralta singled and scored on a triple by second-stringer Trevor Crowe.
Short hops
Cleveland (20-33) sent 10 men to the plate in the sixth inning, seven in the seventh and eight in the eighth. And yet, it could have been worse; Santos actually stranded the bases loaded after coming on for Danks in the sixth.
The Sox, carrying a 23-31 record, are 4-19 after a win this season. They won consecutive games twice and got three in a row, gloriously, in April against Seattle, a projected playoff contender now also floundering in last place in its division.
CLE -- 000 004 240 -- 10 15 1
CWS -- 000 100 000 -- 1 6 0