CLEVELAND -- The Indians, insult and injury were all in force on Friday night.
Not only did the White Sox lose their sixth straight game, a 10-4 blowout at the hands of the first-place Cleveland Indians in front of 18,937 at Progressive Field, they also lost outfielder Adam Eaton to an apparent injury.
In making a fantastic running catch in the sixth inning, Eaton, a strong contender for a Gold Glove Award, slammed into the center-field wall and stayed down for several minutes before he walked off the field with the help of his teammates. Eaton declined comment after the game and manager Robin Ventura said Eaton hit the wall with both his hip and shoulder. He also was to be evaluated for a concussion.
“They’re checking for it,” Ventura said. “But he seems fine and responsive and everything. But we’re going to get it checked out to make sure.
“A little bit of his shoulder. There was everything in there. He got it flush.
“No, it was a great effort. Running into walls is like his specialty. He’s pretty good at it.”
Cleveland, which had already gone ahead 6-4 with four runs in the fifth, pulled away in the sixth after Eaton exited. Mike Napoli, whose RBI single an inning earlier tied it at 4, singled to center in the sixth to make it a three-run game. The RBI was the 100th of the season for Napoli, who is the first Indians player in 10 years to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs.
MLB
Jose Ramirez -- who blasted a game-tying, two-run homer in the fourth inning off Miguel Gonzalez -- doubled in two more in the sixth to make it a 9-4 game. And Coco Crisp singled in one of his three RBIs to put Cleveland ahead by six runs.
Eaton has been the best all-around player for the White Sox this season and it isn’t even close.
Not only does he lead the team with 85 runs scored, Eaton is third in homers (14) and second in wRC+ (115), according to fangraphs.com. He also has been a dynamic performer in the outfield, leading the team with 23 Defensive Runs Saved. Eaton has an Ultimate Zone Rating of 24.4 and leads all major league outfielders with 18 assists.
Eaton slammed into the wall with his left shoulder as he hauled in a long drive off the bat of Roberto Perez to start the sixth inning. He may also have hit his head when he contacted the wall. After he spent several minutes on the ground, Eaton was able to walk off the field with the help of trainer Herm Schneider and second baseman Carlos Sanchez as he had an arm hoisted over the back of each.
The White Sox looked as if they might end their losing streak early on. Melky Cabrera followed a one-out Tim Anderson triple in the first inning with a two-run homer off Trevor Bauer. While Ramirez’s homer tied it in the fourth, the White Sox pulled back ahead in the fifth on a two-run home run by Avisail Garcia.
But Gonzalez couldn’t hold the lead as he allowed five runs (four earned) and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Rookie Juan Minaya allowed two runs in relief and Dan Jennings yielded three as Cleveland pulled away.