Major League Baseball
Cleveland 13, Chi. White Sox 2
When: 6:10 PM ET, Saturday, June 18, 2016
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Temperature: 77°
Umpires: Home - Bill Miller, 1B - Tom Woodring, 2B - Tony Randazzo, 3B - Todd Tichenor
Attendance: 31066

CLEVELAND -- Tyler Naquin had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs, and Mike Napoli and Juan Uribe also homered as the Cleveland Indians routed James Shields and the Chicago White Sox 13-2 on Saturday night at Progressive Field.

The Indians, who have won the first two games of the series, made quick work of Shields (0-2), racing out to an 8-0 lead after two innings.

That was more than enough for Danny Salazar (8-3), who came into the game leading the American League with a 2.19 ERA. Salazar pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and five hits, with seven strikeouts and one walk.

The win kept the Indians in first place in the American League Central, where they have dominated division opponents. Cleveland is 20-10 vs. AL Central teams.

Fourth-place Chicago fell 4 1/2 game behind the division-leading Indians as the White Sox's hot start to the 2016 season has become a distant memory. Chicago began the year with a 22-10 record. Since then, the White Sox are 11-25.

Salazar held Chicago scoreless on three hits through the first five innings. The White Sox scored their only runs in the sixth inning when Adam Eaton singled and rode home on Jose Abreu's 10th home run of the season.

The Indians added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Jose Ramirez led off by drawing a walk from reliever Matt Albers. Uribe then launched a mammoth home run over the center-field wall, his third homer of the season.

Two outs later, Naquin hammered his fifth home run of the season into the seats in center field to stretch the lead to 13-2. Naquin had a single, triple and home run. He came to the plate in the eighth needing a double to complete the cycle but walked.

A woeful season continued for Shields. His third start for the White Sox since being acquired in a trade with San Diego didn't last long.

Shields pitched 1 2/3 innings, threw 53 pitches and gave up eight runs and seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

In his last four starts, which includes his final one in San Diego and first three with Chicago, Shields is 0-3 with a 24.62 ERA. In 11 1/3 innings, he has given up 31 earned runs and 32 hits, seven of them home runs, with six strikeouts and 13 walks. Opposing teams are hitting .485 against him.

The Indians sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs in the first inning, which Shields began by walking Carlos Santana on four pitches. Santana went to third on a double off the left-field wall by Jason Kipnis.

Francisco Lindor reached on an infield single, scoring Santana. Mike Napoli then hit a 2-0 pitch into the right-field seats for a three-run homer, his 15th home run of the season, giving Cleveland a 4-0 lead.

Jose Ramirez followed with a double and Ramirez scored on a two-out single by Tyler Naquin.

In the second, Shields again walked the leadoff hitter, leading to a three-run rally that included an RBI single by Juan Uribe and a bases-loaded walk by Yan Gomes.

The walk to Gomes was issued by Matt Purke, who relieved Shields and walked the first three batters he faced in a dismal pitching night for Chicago.

Leading 8-0, the Indians continued to pour it on in the fourth. Uribe singled and went to second on a single by Gomes. Naquin then drove in both runners with a triple to left field, and the Cleveland lead was up to 10-0.

Salazar was as efficient as Shields was erratic. Salazar started the game by retiring the first 10 batters he faced. Chicago threatened in the fourth when it loaded the bases with one out. But Salazar struck out Todd Frazier and got Dioner Navarro on a groundout to end the inning.

NOTES: Indians DH Carlos Santana's home run in the ninth inning Friday was the Indians' 14th walk-off home run since the start of the 2013 season. That's the most by any major league team in that span. ... RHP Carlos Carrasco, who will start Sunday's series finale for the Indians, is 3-8 with a 5.90 ERA in 13 career starts vs. the White Sox. ... Entering Saturday's game, the White Sox had lost 13 of their last 16 games against American League Central teams. ... White Sox INF Brett Lawrie has 25 walks this season, three shy of his 2015 total of 28, and eight off his career high of 33 with Toronto in 2012.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Chi. White Sox   Cleveland
James Shields Player Danny Salazar
Loss W/L Win
1.2 IP 6.2
2 Strikeouts 7
7 Hits 5
43.20 ERA 2.70
Hitting
Chi. White Sox   Cleveland
Jose Abreu Player Tyler Naquin
3 Hits 3
2 RBI 4
1 HR 1
7 TB 8
.750 Avg 1.000
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Chi. White Sox 7 1 11 .206 11 11 2 1 0 1
Cleveland 15 3 28 .395 20 9 12 9 1 0