CLEVELAND — Shin-Soo Choo is taking the Cleveland Indians on quite the ride.
Choo hit a grand slam and drove in five runs Sunday to lead Cleveland to a 7-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. He finished 2 for 3 with a walk, staking the Indians to a 7-0 lead when he went deep with the bases loaded off Gavin Floyd (0-2).
It was his second career slam, his first coming against Boston’s Josh Beckett in 2006.
Choo was just 2 for 18 with nine strikeouts in his first five games, but has hit .545 with four homers and 12 RBIs since then.
“Choo is more patient at the plate,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “When he’s like that he’s a one-man wreck(ing) crew. He was too anxious, trying to do too much.”
Choo said he has calmed down after a chat with a friend.
“He said, ‘Choo, you have a nice car and don’t worry about the tires or engine, right? It is the same with you. You have the talent so don’t worry and just go drive the baseball.’ That’s what I try to do,” Choo said.
Fausto Carmona (2-0) gave up three runs over six innings as the Indians completed their first three-game home sweep of Chicago since May 2003. Chris Perez came on with runners on first and third and one out in the ninth and yielded a sacrifice fly to Carlos Quentin, then threw a called third strike past Paul Konerko for his fourth save.
“We finished off a very good homestand,” Acta said after Cleveland got back to .500 with a fourth straight win. “We needed that because we’re going to face three tough teams on the road.”
After a day off Monday, the Indians play three games apiece at Minnesota, Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels.
Choo singled home Cleveland’s first run in a three-run first, and Mark Grudzielanek — hitting just .091 — lined a two-run single to right for a 3-0 lead. The two RBIs were his first since July 29, 2008, when he was with Kansas City.
Omar Vizquel had an RBI double in Chicago’s three-run fifth, when Carmona yielded four hits and one walk on 32 pitches. Carmona threw only 44 pitches over the first four innings.
“With the lead, I wanted to throw strikes and get quick outs,” Carmona said.
Carmona threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 25 batters he faced to go to 6-0 with a 2.79 ERA in six starts against the White Sox since Sept. 9, 2007. The Indians’ winning streak is their longest since taking five in a row last July 23-27.
Chicago has lost four straight and was 2-5 on a trip to Toronto and Cleveland.
“It was a very bad road trip,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said, joking that he may not return from a trip home to Miami on Monday to see his son Ozney play a high school game.
“I can’t enjoy these games,” Guillen said. “Hopefully, I can enjoy my kid’s game.”
Chicago went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and is hitting .222 overall.
“I’m just as frustrated as the next guy,” catcher A.J. Pierzynski said, after going 0 for 4 to drop his average to .171. “Things aren’t working out, but nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”
Meanwhile, Floyd continued to struggle on the road. He gave up seven runs in one-plus inning, allowing six hits and walking four. All five men he faced in the second reached safely.
Floyd has a 14.14 ERA in two road starts. He had a 5.47 ERA on the road last year, with a 2.47 ERA at home, the largest disparity in the majors.
NOTES: SS Alexei Ramirez had three of Chicago’s 10 hits. … The White Sox are 4-9 for the first time since 1997. … Pierre stole three bases for the 10th time, giving him 465 to pass Delino DeShields for 45th on the career list. He leads active players in steals. … Indians CF Grady Sizemore made a diving catch in right-center to rob Pierre of extra bases in third. … Quentin is in a 3-for-27 slump. He grounded out with two runners on in the seventh as a pinch-hitter. … Vizquel’s hit was his 2,706th, passing Doc Cramer for 60th on the career list. … Choo is the 25th Indians player with five or more RBIs in an April game since 1952. Cleveland is 25-0 in those games.
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