If Jeff Samardzija pitched his final game with the White Sox on Thursday night, the right-hander went out on a high note. Facing swirling trade rumors, Samardzija handcuffed Cleveland over eight innings, guiding Chicago to an 8-1 win at Progressive Field.
Samardzija received plenty of help from the White Sox offense, which launched four home runs, including one from each side of the plate from Melky Cabrera. Alexei Ramirez and Adam Eaton also went deep for Chicago, which tagged Tribe starter Trevor Bauer for six runs on six hits (three homers) in his six-inning loss.
Cleveland’s lone breakthrough against Samardzija came in the sixth inning, courtesy of an RBI single from rookie Francisco Lindor. The big righty ended with three strikeouts, scattering four hits and walking none en route to his seventh win of the year.
“He throws his fastball, angles his fastball really well,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of Samardzija. “And he had enough to beat us with it, whether he got it by us with a miss or maybe just where guys didn’t get quite extended. He got a lead and did what you’re supposed to — came after guys and threw strikes.”
“It’s a nice game to have, especially after a tough one yesterday, you come back. Shark was fantastic,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “Right out of the gate, he just looked like he had command. Tough lineup to go through, all the lefties, and for him to do that was big for us.”
Bauer struck out nine, but slipped to 8-7 for the Indians, who saw their home record drop to 19-27 on the year.
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