Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians

Andrés Giménez hits 2-run HR, two doubles as Guardians beat White Sox 4-2

Giménez fouled off the first two pitches of his at-bat in the fifth inning while attempting to lay down a bunt and move Steven Kwan to second base. He then swung away, sending a fastball from Mike Clevinger (4-5) into the right-field stands to break a 2-all tie.

“I just wanted to move Kwan, but it didn’t work out, so you’ve got to keep pushing,” Giménez said, smiling. “We’re lucky to have a good young core of players who are ready to play. We want to help them, as well.”

Allen (5-4) allowed two runs and four hits over six innings, snapping a six-start winless streak at Progressive Field. The left-hander, who struck out five and walked four, had not won at home since his major league debut against Miami on April 23.

Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 29th save, tying Baltimore’s Felix Bautista for the AL lead.

“I was able to make adjustments and keep a few tricks up my sleeve,” Allen said. “Gimmy swung the bat well and this was a good team win.”

José Ramírez had an RBI single in the first and Giménez added two doubles and scored twice for the Guardians, who returned from a 2-5 road trip that dropped them 2 1/2 games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.

The White Sox scored both of their runs in the third, when their first five batters reached. Elvis Andrus doubled in Trayce Thompson, and Andrew Benintendi drew a bases-loaded walk before Allen retired three in a row.

“We did draw walks early on him, but we also chased with the bases loaded,” Chicago manager Pedro Grifol said. “After that one inning, (Allen) did a pretty good job.”

Andrew Vaughn went 2 for 4 for the White Sox, who have lost five in a row and are 25 games below .500 for the first time since the final day of the 2018 season.

Clevinger pitched five innings, giving up four runs — three earned. The right-hander struck out two.

“I didn’t have my best stuff, and they’re a scrappy lineup,” said Clevinger, who helped Cleveland reach the 2016 World Series.

Earlier in the day, the Guardians placed first baseman Josh Naylor on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. Naylor, who is batting .306 with 15 home runs and a team-high 79 RBI, is expected to miss 3-6 weeks.

A crowd of 37,056 was in attendance, marking Cleveland’s fifth sellout of the season.

STILL STEAMING

Guardians manager Terry Francona was ejected in the third by umpire Bruce Dreckman after Chicago won a replay challenge. Brayan Rocchio initially doubled, but was ruled out as Tim Anderson tagged him after clearly pushing his hand off second base.

Francona blamed Malachi Moore, whose call was overturned, for not recognizing Anderson’s slight of hand.

“I yelled at Malachi because he was two feet from there — he needs to practice more — because that’s as bad a call as you can make,” Francona said. “And when you make a call that hideous, you can’t be that arrogant.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: OF Eloy Jiménez (heel soreness) was not in the lineup for the second day in a row, but flied out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and could start Saturday.

Guardians: RHP Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation), who cannot be activated from the 60-day injured list until Sept. 10, resumed throwing Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Guardians RHP Noah Syndergaard (1-4, 6.68 ERA) takes on White Sox RHP Michael Kopech (4-10, 4.49 ERA) in the second game of the series.

How can I watch Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians?

• TV Channel: White Sox at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

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