CLEVELAND — From a starting pitcher who only went one inning to a walkoff sacrifice fly eight innings later, the Cleveland Indians rode a roller coaster Thursday night.
Tyler Naquin’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning drove in the winning run as the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 at Progressive Field.
The game-winning sacrifice fly came three hours after Cleveland starter Danny Salazar had a nightmarish 34-pitch, three-walk, three-run first inning that was so bad he was removed from the game after that one inning.
“That was our worst case scenario,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
The bottom of the ninth was the Indians’ best case scenario.
With the score tied 4-4, Abraham Almonte led off the frame with a double to center field off Jacob Turner (1-2). Almonte went to third on a passed ball by catcher Dioner Navarro.
Francona sent up Naquin as a pinch hitter for Roberto Perez. Naquin swung at Turner’s first pitch and hit a line drive into left-center field that was caught by center fielder Adam Eaton, but Almonte beat his throw to the plate to score the winning run.
“Naquin was sitting near the bat rack, ready to hit. That’s not easy to do, but he was ready, and it showed,” Francona said.
“I’m thinking it’s go time,” Naquin said. “Don’t wait around. Go up there and try to get it done. I saw a ball up and was able to put a good swing on it.”
Andrew Miller (7-1) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the win.
Following Salazar’s quick exit, Cleveland’s bullpen was outstanding. Four relievers combined to pitch eight innings, allowing one run on five hits, with seven strikeouts and one walk.
“That’s not the way we drew it up, but we kept fighting back,” Francona said.
“They’ve got some (bullpen) depth,” Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. “The way they’re set up is, they’re kind of switching off closers as far as being able to have Miller and (closer Cody) Allen go on separate days. It’s a tough matchup.”
Trailing 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Indians tied it with a rally started with Mike Napoli’s one out walk by reliever Nate Jones. Napoli went to second on a wild pitch. Jones struck our Carlos Santana for the second out, but Jose Ramirez bounced a single through the right side to score Napoli with the tying run.
The White Sox had an early 3-0 lead on a three-run double by Justin Morneau in the first inning off Salazar, who was making his first start since Aug. 1, having spent 15 days on the disabled list.
“He was rusty. You could tell from the beginning he couldn’t find the plate,” Francona said.
“I was wild. That’s it,” said Salazar. “I felt great, I just couldn’t find my release point.”
White Sox starter Carlos Rodon continued his mastery over Cleveland. Rodon pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He has a 1.93 ERA in eight career appearances (seven starts) against Cleveland.
Trailing 3-1 after the fifth inning, the Indians got a run closer in the sixth, on an RBI single by Francisco Lindor, cutting the Chicago lead to 3-2.
An RBI single by Omar Narvaez in the seventh extended the White Sox lead to 4-2.
In the bottom of the seventh Almonte doubled and scored on a double by Davis and the White Sox lead was down to 4-3.
Rodon, staked to a 3-0 first inning lead, held the Indians scoreless through the first four innings. He was helped by his defense, which turned double plays in four of the first five innings.
In the fifth inning Santana led off with a double, and scored on a single by Ramirez, cutting Chicago’s lead to 3-1.
NOTES: Indians RHP Josh Tomlin is expected to rejoin the team Friday and is scheduled to start Saturday’s game against Toronto. Tomlin was placed on the Family Emergency List on Wednesday and returned to his home in Tyler, Texas. … RHP Danny Salazar was activated off the disabled list to start Thursday’s game. Salazar had been on the disabled list since Aug. 2 with right elbow inflammation. … White Sox 2B Brett Lawrie was pulled out of a game at Double-A Birmingham on Wednesday because of an issue with his quad. Lawrie, who is on the disabled list with a pulled hamstring, was on a rehab assignment at Birmingham. … White Sox RHP David Robertson, who had 34 saves last year and picked up his 30th on Wednesday, is the fourth closer in team history to have back-to-back 30-save seasons. The others are Bobby Thigpen (1988-91), Bobby Jenks (2006-08) and Keith Foulke (2000-01). … White Sox RHP James Shields, who starts Friday versus Oakland, was 2-3 with a 1.78 ERA in three starts in July. He is 0-2 with a 20.25 ERA in three starts in August.
