Burger, Sheets go deep again as White Sox top Guardians 7-2

Updated May. 18, 2023 12:19 a.m. ET

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Burger and Gavin Sheets both homered for the second straight game, leading the Chicago White Sox past the Cleveland Guardians 7-2 on Wednesday night.

Burger added a triple and single for Chicago, which has posted consecutive victories against Cleveland and won for the third time in four games. Andrew Vaughn also went deep for the White Sox.

Burger has homered in three straight games, going 7 for 12 with six RBIs after missing 10 contests with a strained left oblique. The 27-year-old outfielder has 10 home runs this season and recently has been doing it from the No. 8 spot in the batting order.

"It kind of gave me a little reset to get back to myself," Burger said of his stint on the injured list. “The lineup's deep, you know, and so 1 through 9, there could be damage done."

Sheets, the No. 6 hitter Wednesday, is rolling, too.

“We're swinging the bats really well,” Sheets said. “When you've got Burger hitting eighth and hitting the ball the way he's doing, it shows how deep we are.”

Tim Anderson, Andrew Benintendi and Yasmani Grandal each had two hits in Chicago’s 12-hit attack as the White Sox followed up on 16-hit, 8-3 win on Tuesday.

Mike Clevinger tossed six-plus effective innings to beat Cleveland, his original team, for the first time.

Clevinger (3-3) allowed two runs and six hits with four walks and five strikeouts. He exited in the seventh — with Chicago ahead 7-1 — after the Guardians loaded the bases on a single and two walks.

Reynaldo López entered and escaped the jam with only one run scoring, on the walk to Bell with two outs. López struck out two and got big help when Yoán Moncada raced back from third and made and over-the-shoulder catch on Andrés Giménez’s pop down the line for the second out.

That wasn't the only jam Clevinger faced.

“Clevinger was in crisis probably five times out of seven, pitched out of four," White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. "He made pitches when he really had to make pitches.”

Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman followed López with a scoreless inning each.

Josh Bell drove in Cleveland’s runs with a double in the first and bases-loaded walk in the seventh.

Clevinger spent his first four full seasons with Cleveland, then was traded to San Diego during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The 32-year-old right-hander signed as a free agent with the White Sox in December 2022.

The Guardians played again without All-Star third baseman José Ramírez, who’s on the bereavement list until this weekend. First-baseman Josh Naylor is day to day with a left leg injury suffered Tuesday.

Rookie Peyton Battenfield (0-5) allowed all three of Chicago's homers in his sixth career start and seventh appearance. The right-hander, called up when Aaron Civale went on the injured list in April, yielded five runs and nine hits.

“Too many balls caught too much of the plate, especially the three fastballs on the home runs,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “They were almost in the identical spot.”

Sheets tied it at 1 the second with his sixth homer, a solo shot to right center off a full-count fastball.

Vaughn’s solo shot and Burger’s 10th homer, a deep two-run blast to left, put Chicago ahead 4-1 in the fourth.

Chicago upped the lead to 5-1 in the fifth on Moncada’s RBI single, then added two more in the sixth.

YOU'RE OUT

Sheets was ejected for the first time in his career for arguing with plate umpire Dan Iassogna in the seventh after being called out on strikes.

HENDRIKS' PROGRESS

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, recovering from stage-4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is expected to come to Chicago on Thursday or Friday for meetings.

“We’re going to sit down and talk about how we’re going to proceed,” Grifol said.

The 34-year-old Australian right-hander originally had been scheduled to make another rehab appearance for Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: Naylor could be available off the bench on Thursday, Francona said. The team’s medical staff wants to see how well Naylor can run before clearing a return. ... RHP Triston McKenzie, (teres major strain) tossed a 25-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday and is scheduled to pitch Saturday at Triple-A Columbus. ... RHP Civale (oblique strain) is expected to throw 50 pitches at Columbus on Thursday.

White Sox: OF/DH Eloy Jimémez said he’s progressing well after an appendectomy in Cincinnati on May 6. The slugger is running and playing catch, and hopes to be able to return as early as next weekend.

UP NEXT

Cleveland LHP Logan Allen (1-1, 3.43) faces Chicago RHP Dylan Cease (2-2, 4.86) in the series finale Thursday.

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