CHICAGO (AP) — Alexei Ramirez’s soaring fly ball was either going to land in the glove of Cleveland left fielder Ben Francisco to end the game or clear the fence and tie it up with two outs in the 10th.
The way things have been going for the Chicago White Sox lately, it was the latter.
Ramirez’s high fly was a game-tying homer off Indians closer Joe Borowski. And the White Sox pulled out a 3-2 victory moments later when pinch hitter DeWayne Wise singled, stole second and scored the winner on Orlando Cabrera’s RBI single.
“Everybody did their part,” Cabrera said.
“A very good moment,” Ramirez said through a translator. “I knew I hit it hard, but I hit it so high I really wasn’t sure, so I just kept running. Until he jumped and it had landed, I didn’t really know, wasn’t sure.”
Francisco initially thought he had a play.
“I went to the wall and I thought the ball was going to come right down to me,” Francisco said. “And it blew over the fence.”
Adam Russell (1-0), who graduated from North Olmsted High School, got his first major league win with one-third of an inning, striking out Franklin Gutierrez with two on in the top of the 10th.
Casey Blake had given Cleveland a 2-1 lead with a long homer to left off Matt Thornton in the top of the 10th, but the Indians faltered again in their disappointing season and fell 11½ games behind the first-place White Sox.
“It hurts. Maybe kind of doing it in that fashion stings a little more. But they’re having a pretty special year,” Blake said. “It kind of reminds me of how we were playing last year. It seems like we found a way to win all the time.”
Borowski (1-3) blew his fourth save in 10 chances.
“In the position we’re in trying to play catchup, you can’t afford to let these games get away. … We had an opportunity and I let it slip away,” Borowski said.
Left-handers Cliff Lee of the Indians and John Danks of the White Sox dueled for eight innings and neither got the decision after a strong effort, leaving with the game tied at 1.
Lee, who entered with an 11-1 record, gave up six hits and a run with one walk and three strikeouts. Danks allowed four hits and a run with a walk and eight strikeouts.
Kelly Shoppach led off the sixth with his sixth homer, ending Danks’ scoreless innings streak at 16 and tying the game at 1. Danks tied his career high in both innings pitched and strikeouts.
Danks was watching from the clubhouse with reliever Scott Linebrink when Ramirez’s homer went over.
“To see that ball finally get out, it looked like he was going to have a chance to rob it,” Danks said. “It was very dramatic. When it got out, Scott and I jumped up and high-fived each other.”

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