by ldh2013 » Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:42 am
CLEVELAND -- One swing by Dayan Viciedo provided a dramatic turnaround for the Chicago White Sox. . Viciedo hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning off John Axford, lifting the White Sox over the Cleveland Indians 4-3 and stopping a four-game losing streak. After the ball cleared the right-field fence, Viciedo pointed to Chicagos dugout, which erupted in celebration. "That was for the team. That was very exciting," he said. Other than Jose Abreus major league-leading 12th homer, a solo drive in the first inning, the ALs highest-scoring team couldnt manufacture any runs. Corey Kluber struck out a career-high 13 in eight innings, including a team-record seven straight. He allowed three hits and two walks, leaving with a 3-1 lead after 110 pitches. "Its good for the guys to just stay with it," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "Even though it looks bleak, you can still make a little bit of a comeback." Axford (0-2) walked Gordon Beckham leading off the ninth, but struck out Abreu. Adam Dunn walked, and Viciedo homered on a 2-2 pitch. "I was looking for a pitch I could make good contact with," Viciedo said. "He made a mistake, and I made him pay for it." Axford gave up the homer on a 96 mph four-seamer. "I fell behind in the count to too many guys, and it didnt work out," he said. "I put two guys on base without me even challenging. I just couldnt find it. The home run was on a fastball. Not a very good pitch, obviously." Indians manager Terry Francona, citing pitch count and the narrow lead, didnt second guess himself for pulling Kluber. "If anyone got on base, he was going to come out of the game, and I didnt think that was fair to him," Francona said. Kluber had no problem with Franconas strategy. "Thats not my decision. I trust Titos judgment," he said. Axford has blown two saves in 11 chances, both against the White Sox. He gave up a walkoff homer to Alexei Ramirez in the ninth inning on April 13 at Chicago. Daniel Webb (2-0) pitched the eighth, and Matt Lindstrom threw a one-hit ninth for his fourth save in seven chances. George Kottaras, the Indians backup catcher, became the first player to homer in his first two plate appearances for Cleveland. Andre Rienzo allowed three runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings. Klubers streak began when he struck out Gordon Beckham and Abreu for the final two outs of the third. He fanned Dunn, Viciedo and Ramirez in the fourth, and Jordan Danks and Tyler Flowers struck out beginning the fifth. Leury Garcia broke the streak by walking on a 3-2 pitch, and Kluber struck out Alejandro De Aza. Kluber fell two strikeouts short of the AL record set by Doug Fister for Detroit against Kansas City on Sept. 27, 2012. Tom Seaver holds the major league record of 10 for the New York Mets against San Diego on April 22, 1970. Clevelands previous mark was six by Bob Feller, Bartolo Colon, Chuck Finley and Mitch Talbot. Four of Abreus five hits against the Indians this season have been homers. The White Sox broke an eight-game losing streak at Progressive Field, where they had gone 6-20 since 2013. "It hasnt been good to us here so to be able to come back and take one like this is pretty nice," Ventura said. The White Sox returned to Chicago to start a four-game, home-and-home stretch against the Cubs on Monday at Wrigley Field. "It was a much-needed win, obviously," Lindstrom said. "Now we can go home and start to put together a pretty good series against the Cubs. Kottaras, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday when Yan Gomes was placed on the paternity list, hit solo homers in the third and fourth. Kottaras had been 2 for 25 (.080) in the minors. Lonnie Chisenhall had an RBI single for Cleveland in the third. Indians centre fielder and leadoff hitter Michael Bourn missed the game because of tightness in his left hamstring. NOTES: Indians DH Jason Giambi (cramp in right calf) didnt play. ... The White Sox added OF Moises Sierra, claimed off waivers from Toronto, to the 25-man roster. LHP Frank De Los Santos was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. ... The Indians optioned LHP Nick Hagadone to Columbus. ... Chicago 3B Conor Gillaspie (bruised left hand) homered on a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment at Charlotte and could return this week. . The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum from 2013 into the new season, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open. . The Red Wings were set to give Mantha an opportunity to make the roster at training camp after he won the QMJHL scoring title last season with the Val DOr Foreurs. . On Sunday, the Thunder just wanted to bask in another comeback win and another historical statistical performance by Kevin Durant.CALGARY -- Miah-Marie Langlois poured in 21 points and the Windsor Lancers advanced to the CIS womens championship final with a 81-71 victory over the eighth-seed host Calgary Dinos on Sunday night. The fourth-seeded Lancers will defend their title against the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds for the Bronze Baby trophy on Monday. UBC booked a spot in the final with a 59-51 win over the No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees earlier Sunday. The T-birds are 6-1 in CIS championship games overall, with three triumphs since 2004, including the last one in 2008. Windsor lost the CIS final to Simon Fraser in 2010 before winning it last year against Saskatchewan. Head coach Chantal Vallee was thrilled to be going back to the final. "Were very happy with the win -- Calgary played tremendously well," she said. "We tried to pull away, but they would always bring it back. It was an outstanding atmosphere tonight -- we tried to be mentally tough and managed to pull through." On three separate occasions in the fourth quarter, the Dinos would bring the lead to within six on a three-point shot -- twice by Jenna Kaye and and the third by Kiersten Hilton -- but all three times a prompt Windsor response brought it back to a more comfortable lead. Langlois, the CIS defensive MVP, added six rebounds, five assists and three steals to her game-high point total. "This is what weve worked all year for" said Langlois. "We knew what we wanted, and it was just a matter of will and going after our goal." Tamara Jarrett had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Dinos. Calgary will face Ottawa for bronze. In the earlier semifinal, Kristenn Hughes hit two three-pointers in the span of 43 seconds to put the Thunderbirds up for good. . The North Vancouver, B.C., native hit her threes with just under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The Gee-Gees couldnt convert in the waning minutes of the game after being up 47-42 with 6:25 to play. UBC ended the game on a 17-4 run, sparked largely by the timely shots from Hughes and solidified by foul shooting from Zara Huntley and Alexandra Vieweg. "The girls really stepped up in the fourth quarter," said Thunderbirds head coach Deb Huband, in her 17th year at the helm of UBC. "We got really gritty defensively, limited their scoring and got some threes to fall. "The belief factor was there today; that was a tough opponent and thankfully we were able to get it going." Huntley led the way for the Thunderbirds with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kristjana Young led all scorers with 17. Ottawas Hannah Sunley-Paisley grabbed an 17 rebounds to go along with nine points. Lennox was the only Gee-Gee to find double figures, getting to 11 points. Ottawa head coach Andy Sparks gave full credit to UBC in defeat. "We knew it was going to be a dogfight out there today, and it was," said Sparks. "Ultimately, the fourth quarter hurt us -- we got good looks for our fourth and fifth years but they just wouldnt fall. "They have an outstanding team and regardless of what happens in the next game, it will be a great national final." UBC was last in the national championship game in 2008, when they ended up conquering Regina 67-46 for the Bronze Baby. ' ' '
