Jake Peavy Strikes Out 11, White Sox Top Indians 3-1 [Video]

The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 Sunday afternoon to avoid their second straight sweep. Starting pitcher Jake Peavy had his best outing in the early season as Paul Konerko hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning that sealed the win for the White Sox.

Peavy pitched seven strong innings and struck out 11 on the way to his second win of 2013. The 31-year-old right-hander gave up one run against the Indians as Michael Bourn homered to start the game.

Peavy didn’t walk a single Indians’ hitter that came to the plate and went on a stretch of 12-straight batters without giving up a hit. The Indians held a 1-0 lead off Bourn’s solo homer in the first inning until Konerko’s two-run shot in the sixth.

Konerko’s second homer of the year gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead off Indians’ starter Brett Myers. Myers was much better Sunday against the White Sox after giving up 11 hits and three home runs to the New York Yankees in a 14-1 loss last Tuesday.

The 32-year-old was relieved by Bryan Shaw after giving up two runs off six hits in six innings of work. Shaw pitched a scoreless seventh before Vinnie Pestano gave up an insurance run in the eighth. Alejandro De Aza hit a solo homer to deep right off Pestano as the White Sox’s lead grew to 3-1.

Matt Thornton came into the game in relief of Peavy in the bottom half of the eighth and shut down the Indians to keep the White Sox’s lead at two. After the White Sox went down easily in the top of the ninth, Addison Reed came into the game to close out the Indians.

Reed got the job done as Jason Giambi flew out to center with Carlos Santana on second base to end the game. Santana managed a walk after Michael Brantley and Nick Swisher failed to reach base to start the inning.

Swisher hit his first home run in an Indians’ uniform on Saturday, but went 0-for-4 on Sunday in the loss. The Indians now hold a 5-6 record to start the season and are currently a game back in the AL Central.

Here are the highlights of Sunday’s match-up between the Indians and White Sox courtesy of ESPN :

Cleveland now moves on to a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox while the White Sox will play four in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The White Sox are just behind the Indians in the AL Central and Jake Peavy will have to keep pitching well if they hope to take control of the division early in the season.

Will Jake Peavy’s great outing Sunday help the struggling White Sox’s rotation rebound as they move on to face the Blue Jays?

[Image via Joe Bielawa]