CLEVELAND _ Corey Kluber didn't have his best start of the season, but he did enough to rack up strikeouts and help the Indians down the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
Kluber ran into some home-run issues in the sixth but allowed just three runs on eight hits and two walks in eight innings. He also struck out 11, his sixth double-digit strikeout game of his season and putting him over 200 strikeouts for the year. It's the fifth consecutive year he's topped 200 strikeouts, tying Bob Feller for the second most in franchise history. Only Sam McDowell, with six, has more.
Kluber joined Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer as pitchers in the Indians' rotation to reach that plateau, making them only the fourth trio in baseball history to each reach 200 strikeouts in a season. The last team to feature three 200-strikeout hurlers was the 2013 Detroit Tigers.
The Houston Astros are likely to join the Indians this season and become the fifth team to feature three 200-strikeout pitchers. But with Mike Clevinger sitting at 196 strikeouts, the Indians (84-66) are in line to become the first team to have four pitchers in their rotation reach that mark.
The victory is Kluber's 19th of the season, a career high and he is tied with Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell for the most in the majors.
Kluber needed only 12 pitches to get the first six outs, breezing through the White Sox lineup. With the Indians leading 5-0 in the sixth, the White Sox (59-91) finally broke through with two no-doubt, solo home runs by Daniel Palka and Omar Narvaez.
They began building that lead in the bottom of the second against White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. With Josh Donaldson on first, Melky Cabrera ripped a ball into the left-field corner. White Sox left fielder Ryan LaMarre had trouble corralling it, allowing Donaldson to score from first and test his ailing calf. After Yonder Alonso was hit by a pitch, Yan Gomes added an RBI-single to left center.
The Indians' lead was pushed to 5-0 in the fifth. Jason Kipnis led off the inning with his 16th home run of the season.
What followed was a concerning moment for the Indians. With one out and Francisco Lindor on second after a single and an error, Jose Ramirez was hit on the left arm by a 94-mph fastball. He was in obvious pain and was checked out by a trainer and manager Terry Francona. The Progressive Field crowd grew to little more than a whistle until Ramirez took off his shin guard and gloves and ran to first base. He then promptly stole second.
Yandy Diaz followed with a line-drive single up the middle to score both Lindor and Ramirez and extend the Indians' lead to 5-0.
Andrew Miller entered in the ninth, allowing a single and striking out three (Welington Castillo reached on his strikeout on a passed ball by Yan Gomes) to earn the save, his second of the season.
