CHICAGO (AP) – Jose Ramirez hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in his first two plate appearances after missing a month with a broken hand, and the Cleveland Indians pounded the Chicago White Sox 11-0 on Tuesday night.
Roberto Perez and Oscar Mercado also went deep for the Indians, who won for the sixth time in seven games to remain a half-game back of Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card.
Mike Clevinger (13-3) pitched seven innings of five-hit ball and struck out 10 while extending his scoreless streak to 18 innings.
The switch-hitting Ramirez homered from both sides for the fourth time. He finished with a career-best seven RBIs.
Batting left-handed, Ramirez drove a 3-1 pitch from Carson Fulmer (1-2) into the right-field stands with two outs in the first inning. It was his second career grand slam.
Ramirez connected again in the third, this time from the right side against Hector Santiago. His 22nd homer went deep into the left-field stands.
The 27-year-old Ramirez was activated from the 10-day injured list prior to the game. He broke a bone in his right hand on Aug. 24 against Kansas City and had surgery two days later.
Ramirez hit .254 with 20 homers and 75 RBIs in his first 126 games this season. The two-time All-Star batted .320 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs in 46 games in July and August before getting hurt.
Dan Otero and Phil Maton finished the combined six-hitter with a scoreless inning apiece.
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who entered leading the majors with a .334 batting average, went 1 for 3. Zack Collins had two hits.
Santiago replaced Fulmer after the first and yielded seven runs over four innings.
After Ramirez’s slam in the first, Perez made it 5-0 with his 24th homer in the second.
Following Ramirez’s shot in the third, Mercado hit a three-run drive to left-center in the fifth.
