Cleveland Indians: White Sox Win Odd Game vs. Tribe

5 - 26 - 10     vs. Chicago White Sox     L, 5 - 4     17 - 28

     While balks, ejections, and errors are all a part of the game of baseball, they are by no means common nor do they enhance the quality of play.  However, they all three played a very key role in the series finale between the Sox and Indians at Progressive Field.
     This strange tale begins in the second inning following a two - out single by Matt LaPorta.  The White Sox ace, Mark Buerhle, was called for a balk on a pick - off attempt.  Buerhle was not very happy about it, and was probably about to get tossed when his manager Ozzie Guillen came out of the dugout to argue his case.  That resulted in Guillen being ejected, although Buerhle was permitted to remain in the game.  That would not be the case, though, in the third when Mark was called for another balk.  Buerhle fired his glove to the ground and he was promptly dismissed from the contest.  Both balks and both ejections were issued by first - base ump Joe West.
     With one of the best pitchers in baseball in the Sox clubhouse, the Indians probably thought it would be smooth sailing, but from that point on, it was virtually all Chicago.  In the fourth, they scored three times as Paul Konerko hit a RBI single and Mark Teahen drove in a pair on his single.  Mark Kotsay's two - run bomb to right - center field in the sixth appeared to put the game away because the visitors had a comfortable 5 - 1 lead.
     Jake Westbrook left after the seventh, having allowed five runs, and while all of them were earned, he received no help from his defense that committed four errors.
     The Sox still led by four runs going into the bottom of the ninth when Cleveland nearly made their best comeback of the season.  Jhonny Peralta led off with a double, and Matt Laporta and Luis Valbuena also reached with a walk and a single, respectively.  With the bases loaded and nobody out, Travis Hafner drew a walk that forced in a tally, and then in the exact same situation, Shelley Duncan laced a two - run single to left.  The Indians now trailed by only one run, and they had men on first and second with still nobody out.  Trevor Crowe laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving the tying and winning runs into scoring positon.  That, however, was as far as the Tribe got thanks to a strikeout by Austin Kearns and a fly - out off the bat of Russell Branyan.
     The story of the game was the White Sox bullpen that pitched six and two - third innings following Buerhle's abrupt exit.