White Sox move within two games of AL Central leader with win over Indians

CHICAGO -- After two lackluster losses and trailing again, Jim Thome roused the White Sox with a booming home run.

Thome hit a long two-run shot for his 562nd career homer and Gordon Beckham had a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the sixth, helping the Chicago White Sox rally for an 8-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.

Indians reliever Tomo Ohka couldn't hold a 4-1 lead in the fifth. He walked Beckham, and Thome followed with a 442-foot drive to center on a 1-2 pitch. It was Thome's 21st of the season.

"The last couple of game we were very flat," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "When Jimmy hit that home run that was a great opportunity because everybody put their heads up and started swinging the bat like the way we think we can swing the bat."

Ohka then allowed back-to-back singles, and Carlos Quentin followed with a two-run double to tie the game at five.

D.J. Carrasco (4-1) pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief as the White Sox moved within two games of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

"That was huge, especially with the way the wind was blowing tonight," Carrasco said. "[Travis] Hafner hit a big flyball, from the bullpen it looked like it was gone no doubt, but it caught the wind and got knocked out. Jimmy went through that wind and put it up on the upper deck, it was big time."

Guillen said Carrasco's performance warrants him to be considered for a spot in the starting rotation, but he's been too valuable in the bullpen.

"The reason we never make the move is because that's the only guy that I can count on for that role is Carrasco," Guillen sais.

Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits for the Indians, who had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Indians also struck out 15 times.

"We scored five and we very easily could have scored three or four more," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We've had moments where we're not putting the ball in play and taking advantage of our situation."

Dewayne Wise led off the sixth with a double off Indians reliever Jess Todd (0-1) and moved to third on Scott Podsednik's groundout. Beckham followed with a sacrifice fly to give the White Sox the lead.

The White Sox added an insurance run in the seventh. With a runner on second and two outs, Wedge elected to walk Quentin to get to Chris Getz. But Getz came through with an RBI single off Rafeal Perez.

Matt Thornton pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Bobby Jenks, making his first appearance since Aug. 1 after having a laser procedure to break up kidney stones on Wednesday, got two outs in the ninth.

Indians starter Justin Masterson, making his first start since joining Cleveland as part of the deal that sent Victor Martinez to Boston, was on a 60-pitch count. Masterson took the mound in place of Carl Pavano, who was traded to the Twins on Friday, and pitched four solid innings. He allowed one run on four hits. He struck out four and walked one.

"He threw the ball well. He was little erratic early but he didn't give into it," said Wedge. "He was more consistent with his pitches as the game went on and he had better command as the game wore on, but we needed to keep him where he was at 60 pitches. He'll probably go 75-80 next time."

Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run double to left off White Sox starter Carlos Torres. White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez had a chance of throwing out Shin-Soo Choo at the plate, but Ramirez fumbled the relay throw.

Torres, making his second major league appearance, allowed four runs on three hits and six walks in 3 1/3 innings.

Beckham singled in the first inning and scored on A.J. Pierzynski's RBI single.

Game notes
Jake Peavy will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday after throwing off the mound Saturday, and the Chicago White Sox's recently acquired right-hander could be back in the big leagues this month. Peavy is scheduled to start Thursday for Charlotte and is expected to throw two to three innings. On the disabled list since June 13 with a strained right ankle tendon, Peavy was acquired from the San Diego Padres on July 31. ... Thome passed Willie McCovey for 39th on the all-time list with 1,557 RBIs