José Ramírez homers, Aaron Civale steady as Cleveland Indians split series with 4-2 win against Chicago White – cleveland.com

CHICAGO — Sparks flew in the first inning between Cleveland and Chicago, but José Ramírez settled the Indians down late with a clutch home run in a 4-2 win Thursday against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Ramírez snapped an 0-for-19 skid, launching a two-run home run off White Sox starter Lance Lynn in the sixth to put the Indians in front, 2-1. Josh Naylor added a run on an RBI groundout by Andrés Giménez in the seventh and César Hernández scored on a double-error by Chicago first baseman José Abreu in the eighth.

Cleveland rallied behind the pitching of starter Aaron Civale and Ramírez’s heroics to earn a split of their four-game series on the South Side. It was a series that featured one wacky walk-off ending, an extra-inning shutout and a no-hitter. Thursday’s finale added a touch of emotion as the two teams nearly engaged in a bench-clearing brawl.

Giménez ignited the incident in the first when he tagged out Chicago’s Adam Eaton, who over-slid second base while trying to advance on a throw. Eaton popped up and shoved Giménez with two hands before Hernández stepped between the two.

Both dugouts and bullpens spilled onto the field, but order was restored quickly before any ejections took place. Eaton appeared to apologize to both Giménez and Hernández before heading to his bench.

Eaton, who faced Giménez and Hernández in the National League East Division when he played for Washington, said afterward that despite the dustup, he has a lot of respect for the duo.

“They both play the right way,” Eaton said. “I’ve had history of playing against them and competing against them. I let emotions get the best of me there just because I felt like, any time you get pushed off the bag when you’re safe, it’s a little frustrating.”

Chicago took the lead in the first when Yoan Moncada singled home Tim Anderson, but Civale (3-0, 2.68) settled in after that. The right-hander held the White Sox scoreless over the next five innings, striking out four and walking a pair.

Lynn (1-1, 0.92) looked just as unhittable early on as his predecessor, Carlos Rodón, looked in firing a no-hitter one day earlier. He struck out 10 and did not allow a baserunner until Jake Bauers’ leadoff double to left in the third that snapped Chicago’s 11-inning hitless streak.

Ramírez’s blast, his third of the season, marked the first earned runs allowed by Lynn in three starts. In his last 162 games played, Ramírez has 88 extra-base hits, including 40 home runs.

“We were kind of at a point where we’ll take anything,” Francona said. “He had some really good swings, and they ran some really good pitching at us. Not just the starters, but the relievers. We had to scratch for everything we got, and it was enough today.”

Civale matched Lynn pitch-for-pitch after the first. After hitting Eaton on the elbow to lead off the third, he retired Moncada on a grounder to Bauers and got Yermin Mercedes to line out to left field. Francona said the 25 year old “competed his rear-end off.”

“In the first inning a couple of his pitches wandered over the plate and they whacked them pretty good,” Francona said. “In the first four innings, he was out of the stretch every inning. But he competed and he ended up staying out there for six and really pitching well, like we’ve seen him do.”

Nick Wittgren pitched a scoreless seventh out of Cleveland’s bullpen, followed by two strikeouts by James Karinchak in a scoreless eighth.

Emmanuel Clase converted his third save in as many chances despite allowing an unearned run in the ninth on a two-out error by Giménez.

Civale said afterward that the series gives the Indians something extra to look forward to throughout the year as both teams matched up well on offense, defense and on the mound.

“It’s gonna be a grind for every game we play them,” Civale said. “It’s fun to play in those games. That’s why we do the work that we do so we can compete and be a part of those games.”

Next: The Indians head to Cincinnati to open a three-game weekend series against the Reds on Friday. Left-hander Logan Allen (1-1, 2.70) will start the opener for Cleveland while righty Jeff Hoffman (1-1, 3.86) starts for Cincinnati. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. from Great American Ballpark. The game will air on Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM and the Indians Radio Network.