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Monday, Jun. 19 8:05pm ET
White Sox leave Indians 8½ behind | |||||
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Returning home from their most successful road trip in years didn't slow down the streaking Chicago White Sox. The White Sox won their eighth straight game, getting a homer from Herbert Perry and 6 2/3 scoreless innings from Kip Wells to beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 Monday night.
"Baseball is a momentum sport," Perry said. "Right now, this team is in a giant vacuum and we're just letting things go. We're not thinking about anything else. We're just playing baseball." The eight-game win streak is Chicago's longest since the White Sox won eight in a row May 17-26, 1996. It was the Indians' seventh loss in their last eight games. "Too many guys are putting pressure on themselves," Cleveland's Omar Vizquel said. "They go up there thinking they have to do something." A standing room-only crowd of 43,062, the fifth sellout of the season, gave the major league-leading White Sox (45-24) a standing ovation as they took the field to start the game. "That was very moving," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said. "It was a great moment for the team and for me to be received in such a way." "The energy is incredible when you have 40,000 people behind you," Perry said. Wells (4-5), whose pregame preparations included watching the movie "Slapshot" in the clubhouse, gave up four hits, including three doubles, and one walk. He struck out six in his best outing of the season and won for the first time since May 23. "This was more important for me to win because it's tough seeing everyone else succeed (on the pitching staff) and not do my part," Wells said. "I know I have to pitch well to keep my job. I want to build off of this and not be another one-night success." Perry hit his fourth home run leading off a three-run fifth against Bartolo Colon (6-4) to spark the White Sox, who have won 14 of their last 15 games. Two outs later, Jose Valentin singled and scored on Frank Thomas' double which dropped in front of center fielder Kenny Lofton. Magglio Ordonez singled to drive in Thomas and make it 3-0. Chris Singleton walked to start the sixth and Carlos Lee singled to chase Colon. Perry, who came up with the Indians, greeted Brian Williams with a single to score Singleton. Colon, who lost for the first time in nine career starts to the White Sox, gave up four runs on nine hits and one walk in five-plus innings. He struck out seven. "Any time Bartolo pitches, I feel like we have a pretty good chance of winning," Cleveland manager Charlie Manuel said. "We need to get some things going our way." The Indians had runners at second and third with two out in the seventh after an infield single by David Justice and a double by Travis Fryman. Wells then hit Russell Branyan to load the bases and was pulled. Bob Howry got Richie Sexson to ground out to second to end the threat. Vizquel hit an RBI single in the Indians eighth off Howry. Johnson added a two-run double for the White Sox in the eighth. "I still think there's a lot of time left in the season," said Chicago's Manuel, now 200-192 at the helm. "You never know how a young team is going to react. I think the success we've had is strengthening our will to win."
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Cleveland Clubhouse Chi. White Sox Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 22 Boston 1
Chi. White Sox 6
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