Sox Lose Seventh Straight
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ryan Raburn homered twice and drove in four runs and the Cleveland Indians won their eighth consecutive game, a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
The Indians have won 13 of 17 and completed a four-game sweep of the reeling White Sox, who have dropped seven in a row and are 26 games under .500 for the first time since 1980.
Raburn hit a two-run homer in the third, had an RBI single in the fifth and belted a leadoff home run in the seventh to give him 13 on the season.
Justin Masterson outpitched Chris Sale (6-11) in a matchup of All-Star hurlers. Masterson (13-7) gave up one run in 6 2-3 innings and has won all four of his starts against Chicago this season, allowing three earned runs in 31 2-3 innings.
Raburn's home run off Sale in the third was towering fly ball to right that curled inside the foul pole. He added an RBI single in the Indians' two-run fifth and hit a leadoff homer off Dylan Axelrod in the seventh that landed in the left field bleachers.
Masterson's bid for his fourth shutout of the season ended on Alejandro De Aza's leadoff homer in the sixth. The right-hander was pulled with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh but Rich Hill got De Aza to hit into a fielder's choice.
The Indians, who have beaten the White Sox eight straight times, moved to within two games of idle Detroit in the American League Central. Cleveland also swept a four-game series in Chicago from June 28-30.
The Indians, who are a season-high 12 games over .500, won all seven games of their homestand, which began with a three-game sweep against Texas. Cleveland outscored the opposition 40-20 during the seven-game stretch.
Chicago has lost 13 of 16 and has the second-worst record in the AL.
Raburn's two-run, pinch-hit single in the eighth inning Tuesday keyed the Indians' four-run rally in a 7-4 win.
Masterson allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked three. He threw complete game shutouts against the White Sox on April 12 in Cleveland, a five-hitter, and on June 30, a six-hitter at U.S. Cellular Field.
Sale has lost all three of his starts against the Indians this season. The left-hander is 1-9 in his last 11 starts but has a 3.24 ERA in that stretch.
Mark Reynolds' run-scoring single — his second RBI since June 29 — gave Cleveland the lead in the second.
Asdrubal Cabrera added a sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Indians OF Michael Brantley struck out in all three at-bats against Sale and is 2 for 16 with eight strikeouts against the left-hander this season. ... White Sox DH Paul Konerko has 120 career hits at Progressive Field, the most by a visiting player. Konerko and OF Alex Rios were given the afternoon off. ... Indians OF Michael Bourn, who was 1 for 10 in the series, was not in the starting lineup. All-Star 2B Jason Kipnis also was given the day off. ... Chicago LHP Hector Santiago (3-6) faces Tigers RHP Doug Fister (9-5) on Friday. The clubs play 12 times over the final two months of the season. ... The Indians make their first trip to Marlins Park for a three-game series. Cleveland RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (8-5) takes on Miami RHP Jose Fernandez (7-5) in the opener Friday.
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