CHICAGO (AP) – Shane Bieber got tagged early and the Cleveland Indians lost ground in the AL wild-card race, falling to the Chicago White Sox 8-3 on Wednesday night. The Indians’ loss clinched the AL Central title for Minnesota.
Cleveland lost for the second time in its last nine tries and dropped 1 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the second AL wild-card spot.
A throwing error by first baseman Carlos Santana put the Indians behind at the start. Bieber (15-8) had won three in a row, but allowed five runs – three earned – on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Jose Ramirez hit a solo home run for Cleveland. On Tuesday night, in his first two plate appearances after missing a month with a broken hand, he hit a grand slam and a three-run homer.
Tim Anderson matched a career-high with four hits and also scored two runs for Chicago. He improved his batting average five points to an AL-best .339 with his sixth fourth-hit game of the season, most in the major leagues. Jose Abreu drove in his league-high 122nd run with the last of his three singles.
The Indians trailed 5-3 in the seventh when Welington Castillo greeted reliever Tyler Clippard with a three-run homer to break it open.
White Sox starter Ross Detwiler (3-5) allowed three runs on five hits in five innings to earn the victory, his first since Aug. 25 against Texas. The left-hander walked none and struck out one. He entered the game with a 1-2 record and 9.00 ERA in his last five starts.
