Brandon McCarthy struck out eight in his first start in more than four months to help the Chicago White Sox to a rain-shortened 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.
The White Sox had the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning when play was stopped. The umpires waited one hour, 58 minutes, before calling the game.
McCarthy (4-7) allowed one run, two hits and walked one over 5 1-3 innings. He had gone 0-4 _ all in relief _ since his last win June 6, when he pitched two shutout innings in a 4-3 victory over playoff-bound Detroit.
Charlie Haeger worked 1 2-3 innings for his first save in six career appearances.
In his first start since lasting four innings in a loss at Tampa Bay on May 16, McCarthy dominated an Indians lineup that entered the game as the third-highest scoring team in baseball. He tied his career-high strikeout total, set Sept. 11, 2005, in a relief appearance of 5 2-3 innings.
The White Sox salvaged the final game in Cleveland after being routed by a combined 20-1 score over two games. The fourth win in 13 games for the defending World Series champions broke the Indians' four-game winning streak.
Ross Gload hit his third homer with two outs in the first against Fausto Carmona (1-10) to put Chicago ahead 1-0. Alex Cintron's bases-loaded sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the sixth.
Meanwhile, McCarthy used a good fastball and sharp, overhand curve to stymie the Indians, striking out the side on 11 pitches in the fifth.
Right fielder Rob Mackowiak helped keep the Indians hitless in the third by making a leaping catch at the wall on a ball hit by rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff. One out later, Grady Sizemore lined a single to left-centre, but was erased trying to steal second.
Andy Marte ruined McCarthy's shutout bid with one out in the sixth by hitting his fourth homer, a 406-foot shot into the left-field seats.
Carmona took his 10th straight loss since winning his major league debut 7-2 against Detroit on April 15. He allowed two runs and six hits over six innings, walking two and striking out six in his fourth start since returning from Triple-A Buffalo on Sept. 5.
The rookie right-hander went 0-6 with three blown saves as a reliever, losing four times in a six-day span from July 30 to Aug. 5 as the team's closer.
Notes: Chicago's 10 strikeouts gave them 1,032, two more than the previous team mark set in 2004. LHP Rafael Perez fanned ex-Indian Jim Thome to break the record in the eighth. ... White Sox OF Jerry Owens singled in the third inning for his first career hit and moments later got his first stolen base. ... Indians C Victor Martinez went 0-for-3, snapping his 13-game hitting streak. ... The Indians' two hits tied a season low set May 29 in an 11-0 loss to the White Sox.
