Davidson's walk-off snaps Tribe's 9-game streak

July 30th, 2017

CHICAGO -- The White Sox managed only four hits Sunday afternoon, but they made them count, and the final one set off an on-field celebration. Matt Davidson belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to send Chicago to a 3-1 walk-off win over the Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The victory -- the first at home for Chicago since July 2, when (now with the Cubs) notched the win and (now with the Yankees) the save -- snapped Cleveland's nine-game winning streak. Moments after 's one-out double, Davidson hit his 21st homer over the center-field fence off reliever .
"It was really cool," Davidson said. "It was my first time doing that. I was trying to drive [Abreu] in. It's been a rough go for us, so to get that feeling and get that win was huge. Shaw has a really good cutter, throws it a lot. Wanted to see one in the zone. He left one in there, and I got it."

Josh Tomlin started for the Indians, but tightness in his left hamstring forced him out of the game after four no-hit innings. It represented the third time in Chicago's past five games that an opposing pitcher carried a no-hitter through four. This time, though, reliever was asked to pick up where Tomlin left off.

Goody struck out the first five batters he faced before flinching in the sixth. White Sox outfielder -- inserted into the lineup in place of , who was traded to the Royals before the game -- ended Goody's run by sending a 1-2 pitch into the right-field stands for a game-tying solo homer.
"I wanted to keep going," said Tomlin, who will know more about the severity of his injury Monday. "I understand we're short-handed in the bullpen, so you never want to put them in a bind. But you also don't want to go out there and cost your team a game by trying to compensate either. It's kind of a tough situation you're put in."
Due to Tomlin's early exit, Indians manager Terry Francona used Goody, Dan Otero and Shaw for multiple innings.

"It's a shame," Francona said. "Goody was so good, and then Garcia had a really good at-bat and hit the home run. Everybody did [well]. Shaw was in his second inning of work. Otero was efficient. When you score one run, especially on the road, it makes it difficult."
Garcia's shot, his seventh of the season, enabled lefty to walk away with a no-decision for his effort. Rodon, who boasts a 2.34 ERA in 10 career games against Cleveland, struck out nine, walked two and gave up one run over 6 2/3 innings. His lone blemish was a third-inning homer to , who has a career-high 16.

"The velo was there, so we could pitch off of it," Rodon said of his fastball, which touched 98.4 mph. "I know going in they are going to be patient and try to make me throw strikes. If I can attack the zone and get them to swing and put them in swing mode, then it's to my advantage. If not, it's to their advantage. Today it happened to fall on my plate and my advantage."
Rodon puts solid bullpen session to good use
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Garcia bests Goody: Goody got Garcia into a 1-1 count, but Chicago's left fielder fought off four pitches, fouling them away. Goody then left a slider up and over the plate, and Garcia made him pay with a shot that had a 101-mph exit velocity, per Statcast™. The homer was the ninth of Garcia's career, and all of them have come from the left side. The switch-hitter entered Sunday slugging .348 for his career as a lefty hitter, compared to .261 from the right side. It was Garcia's first game with the White Sox since June 15 after spending time on the disabled list with a sprained finger on his left hand.

"That's a huge pick-me-up in terms of being able to finish out a ballgame," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "We were down most of the game, Leury hits a homer, ties it. He's been gone a while, just recovering from that hand thing."
Missed chances: The Indians ended the afternoon 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-15 with runners on base, so there were missed opportunities throughout the game. One key missed opportunity came in the seventh, when Lindor stepped up with a pair of runners in scoring position. Jake Petricka took over on the mound for Rodon and induced an inning-ending flyout to left.

"Some of that was due to Rodon, the way he was pitching," Francona said of the missed scoring chances. "His stuff, again, it's good stuff, and he's got really good spin on the breaking ball. Sometimes you've got to give the other guy a bit of credit."
QUOTABLE
"Melky was one of the guys who's obviously been as consistent as any Major League player can be on a particular club. Not only did he bring a particular type of energy to the clubhouse and a personality that created some cohesiveness within the ranks, he also went out and gave you what he could. His professionalism and the way he went about his business, we all appreciated it and will miss it." -- Renteria
"You can tell he missed almost a year, but he's getting a handful of starts under his belt now, and you're starting to see the velocity creep up. The breaking ball's good. He's probably still not commanding like he wants, but he kept us off the barrel. And when we had men on, he made pitches. He was a guy who, before he got hurt, was really starting to figure it out. He was getting pretty good, and I don't doubt that he'll get back there." -- Francona, on Rodon
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Tomlin's exit was unique in that it marked only the 20th time since 1913 that a Major League starting pitcher exited a game after exactly four no-hit innings.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
In the third inning, hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Lindor, who gloved the ball but threw high across the diamond. First baseman came off the bag as he jumped and reached for the ball, allowing Anderson to get his foot on the bag before Santana landed. The Indians challenged the safe ruling, but a 42-second replay review confirmed the call. Lindor was charged with a throwing error.

WHAT'S NEXT
Indians: Right-hander Mike Clevinger (5-3, 3.20 ERA) is slated to take the ball for the Tribe in the opener of a three-game set against the Red Sox on Monday at Fenway Park. Game time is 7:10 p.m. ET. Over his past seven starts, Clevinger is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA, piling up 40 strikeouts against 18 walks with a .201 opponents' average in 37 1/3 innings.
White Sox: (2-3, 5.86 ERA) takes the mound for the White Sox in the first game of a three-game set against the Blue Jays at 7:10 p.m. CT. The Blue Jays are the last of three teams to visit Guaranteed Rate Field on this eight-game homestand. Shields has just one quality start since coming off his first career stint on the disabled list on June 18.
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