The Cleveland Indians don't have a good offense, but they have a good half an offense, and when all its stars align, it can knock a pitcher for a loop.
Dane Dunning found that out the hard way. Cleveland greeted him with two singles and a three-run homer by MVP candidate Jose Ramirez that gave the Indians a three-run lead before Dunning recorded his first out of the game.
The White Sox were able to claw their way out of a 4-0 deficit, but when Carlos Santana took Jace Fry deep for a two-run shot before the fifth came to a close, the Sox didn't have a second wind. The tried, getting the tying run to the plate in the ninth in hopes of another comeback against Brad Hand, but Cleveland's closer rallied to lock up James McCann and José Abreu on backdoor sliders to close it down without a run scored.
The White Sox offense overcame some bad luck to tie the game. In the second, Tim Anderson hit a 101.5-mph liner that rattled in and out of the glove with Aaron Civale. It woud've been better had Civale caught it, because by dropping it, he ended up starting a 1-5-3 inning-ending double play instead.
In the fourth, Yasmani Grandal hit a double with two outs that would have easily scored Tim Anderson from first ... except it one-hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double. This time, the Sox wouldn't be deterred. Abreu scored Anderson and Grandal with a single through the middle, and Eloy JIménez tied it up with a two-run blast just right of center.
The top of Cleveland's order did just too much damage. Francisco Lindor, Cesar Hernandez, Ramirez and Santana combined to go 7-for-14 with three walks, six RBIs and six runs scored. Beyond that four, a 3-for-4 night from Josh Naylor was the only production to be found.
The good news is that Dunning more or less recovered from the fastballs he misplaced in the first. He could have gotten out of the second unscored upon, but Grandal dropped Nomar Mazara's on-target throw while attempting to place the tag on Naylor, which made it a 4-0 game. Dunning's other two innings were comparatively easier, as he needed just 31 pitches and allowed just a one-out single that didn't go anywhere.
Fry tried to sidestep Ramirez by walking him with one out, but then he elevated a 2-1 sinker to Santana, who hammered it well over the big wall in left to give Cleveland a 6-4 lead. The top of the order then conspired against Jimmy Cordero in his second inning of work, as all four hitters reached, and Franmil Reyes drove in one with a sac fly. The only reason they didn't do more damage is because Grandal cut down Lindor at second on his steal attempt.
Bullet points:
*Rick Renteria was ejected for arguing strike three to McCann, although he might've taken the bullpen so he didn't lose both catchers. McCann had replaced Grandal, who exited the game shortly after taking a foul tip off his hand. X-rays were negative. The pitch in question was a strike according to Statcast.
*Jiménez gave up a hit on a line drive to left that he might've lost in the lights to start the seventh, but he made a sliding catch in left to end it.
*Struggling hitter watch: Luis Robert drew two walks for the second straight game, Nomar Mazara went 1-for-4, Yoán Moncada went 0-for-4 with a walk and reached on a hard-hit grounder on the ninth that was scored an error, but Edwin Encarnación went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
