Indians Fall To White Sox 2-1

The White Sox defeated the Indians 2-1 on a long and rainy night, as the teams’ two aces attempted to square off against each other. Justin Masterson and Chicago left-hander Chris Sale barely had time to make a mark on Tuesday’s game before the weather sent the teams into a lengthy rain delay. Masterson flinched first, giving up one run in three innings of work, while Sale held the Tribe hitless. Neither starter was allowed to continue after the break, so the 1-0 game became a battle of the bullpens in the fourth inning.

May 22, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Key Innings

Bottom of the 3rd, tied 1-0
After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first, Masterson shut down the side in the second. He wasn’t as fortunate in the third inning. Adam Eaton hit a leadoff single, and advanced to third on a wild pitch and a Gordon Beckham groundout. With one out, Conor Gillaspie singled to center field to score Eaton and give the White Sox the early lead.

Top of the 7th, Indians trail 2-0
Mark Lowe gave up a solo home run to Beckham in the fifth inning, but the Tribe had the opportunity to rally in the seventh. Lonnie Chisenhall and David Murphy started the inning with back-to-back singles off of left-hander Scott Downs. With runners at first and third and nobody out, reliever Jake Petricka got Mike Aviles to ground into a force out. Although Chisenhall scored on the play, Petricka escaped further harm after Aviles was caught stealing and Justin Sellers struck out to end the inning.

The Positives

Chisenhall is now 7-for-13, with two walks and just one strikeout against left-handed pitchers. He was kept out of the lineup against Sale, who is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the league, but replaced Jesus Aguilar after the rain delay knocked the White Sox’s ace out of the game. Chisenhall also played first base without issue, which is more than can be said for his recent games at third.

The Negatives

In the limited outing that Masterson had, he didn’t seem to have very good control of his pitches. He walked two and threw only 58 percent of his pitches for strikes during three innings of work. The caveat, of course, is that it was raining steadily throughout most of his appearance, which could have hindered his ability to throw strikes.

Check It Out

– Jason Kipnis will be activated before Wednesday’s game against the White Sox. Before his trip to the disabled list, he was hitting .234/.354/.394, with three home runs.

– The Indians placed Carlos Santana on the seven-day concussion DL, while Nick Swisher was added to the 15-day DL. In the past several games, both players had started to improve. Santana had gone 5-for-21 with 7 walks and a home run in his last six games. Swisher was 7-for-22 with five walks in that same span. Aguilar and catcher George Kotteras were called up to fill their spots.

– The White Sox are 29th in ERA, with a 4.60 team ERA. Opposing batters are hitting .257 against both the Tribe and the Sox, but the Indians’ team 4.13 ERA is marginally better.