Alexei Ramirez's seventh-inning single broke the game's final tie and led Chicago to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night, giving the White Sox a split of the day-night doubleheader.
Asdrubal Cabrera's solo home run and six strong innings from Fausto Carmona gave Cleveland a 4-3 win in the first game.
The teams, who were eliminated from the AL Central race last week when Detroit clinched the division, are battling for second place. The Indians lead the White Sox by 1½ games.
Matt Thornton (2-5) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win in the second game and Chris Sale went the final 1 2-3 innings for his seventh save.
Cleveland took a 4-3 lead into the seventh before Chicago rallied against rookie reliever Zach Putnam (0-1). Tyler Flowers started the rally with a single and took third on Gordon Beckham's third double of the game. Juan Pierre's groundout tied the game before Ramirez's bloop single to center over a drawn-in infield gave Chicago the lead.
Both teams started rookies in the second game. Dylan Axelrod, making his second major-league start, allowed four runs in 4 2-3 innings for the White Sox while Zach McAllister, in his third big-league start, gave up two runs in 5 1-3 innings for the Indians.
Cleveland managed one hit off Axelrod through three innings before scoring four times in the fourth. Jim Thome's RBI single gave Cleveland the lead. Matt LaPorta's run-scoring double and sacrifice flies by Grady Sizemore and Jack Hannahan completed the scoring.
Local
Singles by Jason Donald and Carlos Santana started the inning. Thome singled sharply past a diving Paul Konerko at first base to score Donald. After Shelley Duncan walked to load the bases, Sizemore's fly ball to left was deep enough to score Santana.
LaPorta's line drive to right was misjudged by Dayan Viciedo, who got a bad jump and broke back too late to make the catch. Hannahan's fly ball to center scored the inning's final run.
McAllister held the White Sox scoreless until the fifth when Beckham's RBI double scored Chicago's first run. Alejandro De Aza's two-run double off Rafael Perez in the sixth cut the lead to one.
Cleveland's pitchers hit three Chicago batters in the second game.
Cabrera strained his back while batting in the eighth inning of the first game and didn't play in the second game.
Carmona (7-15) allowed three runs in six innings and won for the first time since Aug. 17.
Travis Hafner and Kosuke Fukudome also homered off Gavin Floyd (12-12), who hasn't won since Aug. 29.
Hafner's two-run homer in the first gave Cleveland the lead, but Chicago tied the game in the second on Adam Dunn's RBI double and Alejandro De Aza's run-scoring single.
Cabrera's home run put Cleveland ahead and was his 24th of the season. Cabrera, who entered Saturday's game against Minnesota in an 0-for-20 slump, has eight hits in his last 13 at-bats.
