Lane Thomas had four RBIs and the Cleveland Guardians held on behind their bullpen to beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 on Wednesday for a three-game series sweep.
Austin Hedges added a solo home run for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who moved 4 1/2 games ahead of second-place Kansas City when the Royals lost 4-3 in 11 innings at Yankee Stadium. Cleveland and New York are tied for the best record in the American League.
The Guardians finished 6-3 on a three-city trip that included stops in Kansas City and at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Chicago dropped a franchise-record 15th straight at home, lost its 17th in 19 overall and was swept for the 24th time. At 33-114, the White Sox are closing in on the post-1900 record for losses - 120 by the 1962 New York Mets in their inaugural season.
Thomas drove in his four runs on a pair of infield singles with two outs when Cleveland runners on second and third were in motion and able to race home. He beat out a tapper to third, then a hard bouncer that second baseman Lenyn Sosa ranged to corral at the edge of the outfield grass. He had three hits overall.
The White Sox cut their deficit to 5-4 in the third inning, scoring three of four runs unearned following Andrés Giménez's throwing error. They loaded the bases with none out, then scored on Sosa’s single, Boyd’s balk, Vargas’ groundout and Dominic Fletcher’s infield hit.
Cleveland tacked on an insurance run in the eighth.
Garrett Crochet (6-11, 3.83) starts on Friday against Oakland. The Athletics hadn't named a starter for the opener of their six-game visit to Chicago - with three against the White Sox followed by three at the Cubs. The White Sox are back on the WHOW airwaves on Sunday afternoon.
