Indians at White Sox
Carlos Santana led the Cleveland Indians to their first win of the series and hopes to stay hot when they go for a split of the four-game set Sunday afternoon against the host Chicago White Sox. Santana put the Indians ahead for good with a solo homer in Saturday’s 5-2 victory and the first baseman is 8-for-16 with a pair of blasts along with eight RBIs in his last four contests.
Leonys Martin also went deep Saturday for Cleveland, which is still right in the hunt for the second wild-card spot in the American League but is 10 1/2 games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central - with the White Sox just one more behind. Zach Plesac gets his second major league start after a solid outing in his debut for the Indians and Chicago will counter with the red-hot Lucas Giolito, who has not lost a game since early April. The White Sox managed just four hits against six Cleveland pitchers Saturday to put an end to their five-game winning streak, in which they had recorded 30 runs combined, and spoil a chance to reach the .500 mark. Rookie outfielder Eloy Jimenez had a pair of hits in Saturday’s loss and is 6-for-15 over his past four contests to raise his batting average to .228 after going just 1-for-18 in his previous five games.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), NBCS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Zach Plesac (0-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Lucas Giolito (7-1, 2.85)
Plesac made a strong impression in his major league debut while allowing one run on four hits and one walk across 5 1/3 innings at Boston on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Ball State product struck out two in that outing and tossed 86 pitches as the Indians rallied for a 7-5 victory. Plesac was 4-1 with a 1.41 ERA in nine minor league starts this year, between Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron, with 56 strikeouts and seven walks across 57 1/3 innings.
Giolito has earned the victory in five straight trips to the mound, permitting five runs on 17 hits over 36 1/3 innings combined during that stretch. The 24-year-old California native, who has struck out 69 and walked 20 over 60 total innings this year, started his five-game streak by blanking Cleveland on three hits over 7 1/3 innings on May 7. Jose Ramirez is 2-for-8 with a homer and a double versus Giolito, who is 1-2 with a 4.41 ERA lifetime against the Indians.
WALK-OFFS
1. Chicago CF Leury Garcia was hitless in three at-bats with an RBI on Saturday, but is 11-for-24 with eight runs scored against the Indians this year.
2. Cleveland 1B-OF Jake Bauers is 3-for-6 with two runs scored and a pair of walks in his last two contests.
3. The White Sox activated C Welington Castillo from the concussion list Saturday and optioned C Seby Zavala to Triple-A Charlotte.