Indians 4, White Sox 3
The boos Nick Swisher heard before his first plate appearance were nothing compared to the reception he received after his tiebreaking single in the eighth.
Swisher's single helped the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox for the third time in less than 24 hours, 4-3 Saturday.
His homer in the ninth inning Friday night propelled Cleveland to a sweep of a marathon doubleheader.
''It's that never die attitude,'' Swisher said. ''I just feel like we keep fighting. We keep doing our thing. This is a good squad.''
This time, Cabrera, Jason Kipnis and Swisher hit consecutive one-out singles off Jesse Crain (2-3) in the eighth. Crain allowed his first earned run since April 12. He went 31 outings before Saturday without giving up an earned run.
''It's one of those he's always going to come in, kind of the toughest situations,'' White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. ''That eighth inning's just one of those, depending on where that lineup is, it's usually a nasty situation. It's impressive just kind of the run he's been on.''
Joe Martinez (1-0), called up from Triple-A Columbus Saturday, earned the victory in his first major league appearance this season. He pitched two innings and held Chicago to two hits and no runs with one strikeout.
''He really clutched up,'' Cleveland manager Terry Francona said about Martinez. ''That's not the easiest situation to be put into.
''It's not like there was a safety net there,'' Francona added. ''He did really well.''
Cleveland closer Chris Perez earned his seventh save in nine attempts.
Kipnis tied the game 3-all with a two-run home run in the sixth inning. Kipnis said he caught a cutter from White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Axelrod. Michael Bourn started the inning with a walk and Cabrera flew out to right field before Kipnis homered beyond the bullpen in right field.
''It wasn't a big swing,'' said Kipnis, who has a 12-game hitting streak and has reached base in 32 consecutive games. ''It was more reacting in and letting the hands do the work. I got it well enough.''
Chicago rallied with two outs in the fifth inning to take a 3-1 lead. Conor Gillaspie and Dayan Viciedo had back-to-back RBI singles to score Alex Rios and Jeff Keppinger. Catcher Tyler Flowers had a chance to add on but struck out looking with the bases loaded.
Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hit his sixth home run of the season to tie the game at 1 in the fourth inning.
White Sox left fielder Viciedo made a pair of terrific catches that easily could have been base hits for the Indians. His first was a diving grab of a looper from Cabrera that was fair and in shallow left field, where Viciedo snagged it just as it was about to hit the ground. His second highlight catch prevented Michael Bourn from reaching base in the third inning, when Viciedo sprinted into the gap to make the play. He also went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a double.
''Today, energy wise, he was up and ready to go,'' Ventura said. ''Swinging the bat, he was a lot better, too. Just something that seemed a little calmer with him.''
Chicago took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Flowers had an RBI double, but the White Sox stranded runners on second and third.
NOTES: White Sox 1B/DH Paul Konerko took batting practice Saturday, his first action since last playing June 23 in Kansas City. Konerko, who has pain in the lower right side of his back, doesn't think he's headed to the disabled list and hopes to play Sunday. Ventura said Konerko probably won't play Sunday but there's a good chance he would be in the lineup Tuesday against Baltimore. ... Before Saturday's game the White Sox recalled pitcher Simon Castro, who has never pitched in the major leagues. ... Chicago right fielder Alex Rios snapped an 0-for-13 streak at the plate with his single in the fifth inning. ... Francona was surprised to hear Friday's doubleheader was the longest in Major League history. ''I guess that's the one advantage to waking up every day feeling (lousy), you really don't feel all that different.'' ... Chicago will start Chris Sale (5-6, 2.75 ERA) and Cleveland starts Justin Masterson (9-6, 3.76) in today's series closer at 1:10 p.m.