Luis Robert hit a leadoff homer in the fifth inning, lifting the visiting Chicago White Sox to a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday.
Dylan Cease (13-7) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out nine over 5 1/3 innings before exiting after he was hit by a comebacker from Bradley Zimmer. X-rays were negative and Cease is considered day-to-day with a right triceps contusion, the White Sox announced.
Cleveland’s Shane Bieber made an encouraging return from a three-plus-month absence caused by a strained muscle in the rotator cuff of his right (pitching) shoulder. The reigning American League Cy Young Award recipient struck out three while tossing three perfect innings.
Bieber tossed 34 pitches (22 for strikes) while making his first appearance in the majors since June 13.
Jose Ramirez had two of the six hits for the Indians (75-78), who struck out 16 times en route to losing for the fourth time in their past six games.
Robert extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games in stellar fashion. He opened the fifth inning by depositing an 0-2 slider from Trevor Stephan (3-1) over the wall in center field for his 10th homer of the season and second in as many days.
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The AL Central champion White Sox (87-67) made the modest offense stand up.
Ryan Burr replaced the injured Cease and recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning. Aaron Bummer fanned two batters in the seventh, Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the eighth, and Liam Hendriks retired the side in the ninth to secure his 35th save.
Cleveland’s Amed Rosario went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in his return to action. He was activated from the COVID-19 list prior to the game after previously being on the bereavement list and missing additional time because of health and safety protocols.
Chicago right-hander Mike Wright Jr. served the first contest of his two-game suspension issued by Major League Baseball on Sept. 17. Wright initially appealed the ban administered after he hit Shohei Ohtani with a pitch during the team’s game against the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 16.
–Field Level Media