Holmberg, Abreu leads White Sox past Indians 5-3
CLEVELAND (AP) - David Holmberg had gone two years between victories. The wait was worth it Saturday night.
Holmberg allowed two runs in five innings for his first win since July 30, 2015 and the Chicago White Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians 5-3.
The left-hander (1-0) hadn't won since defeating Pittsburgh when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
"We need to win some ballgames, so I'm happy," Holmberg said. "You want to get in, use all your pitches, and get out. The guys came out hitting for me, so I wanted to do my part."
Holmberg began the season at Triple-A Charlotte and was called up on May 4.
Jose Abreu, who was forced to leave Friday's game after being hit on the left knee by a pitch from Andrew Miller, had an RBI single in a three-run first.
Manager Rick Renteria wasn't sure if his slugger would be able to play and made out two lineup cards. Abreu cleared that up when he arrived at the ballpark and told Renteria he wanted to be in the lineup. Abreu was 3 for 5, with a double in the second and a single in the fifth.
Chicago won despite having six runners thrown out on the bases. The White Sox had two runners thrown out in the first and one in the second, third, fifth and eighth innings. Melky Cabrera was thrown out at home in the first and again in the second.
"We were super aggressive but not necessarily good," Renteria said. "We were a little reckless. Some of the outs were aggressive, but we're going to try to score runs, so that's going to happen."
Josh Tomlin (3-8) allowed four runs - three earned - and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings as the Indians lost for the fifth time in seven games.
"The one person who didn't do his job was me," Tomlin said. "I went out there and gave up four runs early on and put us in a hole."
Edwin Encarnacion homered for the second straight day, a two-run shot in the fourth. Carlos Santana added a solo homer in the sixth. Encarnacion narrowly missed a game-tying home run later in the inning when his high drive to left hit off the wall for a double.
"We didn't get much going besides the home runs," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "That was kind of our offense."
David Robertson - Chicago's fifth pitcher - recorded the final six outs for his 10th save.
Abreu's RBI single gave Chicago the lead and Matt Davidson's bases-loaded single scored two runs.
Michael Brantley dropped Leury Garcia's fly ball for a three-base error in the second. Cabrera, who had three hits, singled with two outs for a 4-0 lead.
SLUMPING
Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor was 0 for 3 with a walk, dropping his average to .259. He's batting .146 (6 for 41) in his last 11 games.
"I think you'll see he's too good a hitter not to get hot," Francona said. "And this is probably the lowest he's been average-wise. That's pretty good."
WELCOME ABOARD
White Sox 2B Alen Hanson joined the team after being claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh. The 24-year-old former top prospect batted .193 in 37 games with the Pirates.
"He seems like a very nice kid, so a change of scenery could help him," Renteria said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon (biceps bursitis) will make his second rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday. He has been on the DL since April 2.
Indians: RHP Danny Salazar (sore shoulder) has been ruled out of starting in the June 17 doubleheader against Minnesota. Salazar was placed on the DL this week and experienced stiffness in a throwing session Thursday.
UP NEXT
White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana seeks his first victory since May 2 at Kansas City. He has made six starts since beating the Royals, going 0-3 with a 6.68 ERA.
Indians: RHP Carlos Carrasco, pitching on seven days' rest, faces the White Sox for the third time this season. He has a win and a no-decision and has allowed one run in 15 innings.