CLEVELAND — Get swept by the worst team in the American League, then take the opening two games of a series against one of the Central Division leaders.
That’s how the Indians roll these days.
On the heels of a disappointing home series against the Seattle Mariners, the Indians have bounced back with gusto, beating first-place Chicago for the second time in two nights via a 9-3 decision Tuesday.
Cleveland goes for its first series sweep of the White Sox this season in a matinee affair today (12:05) at Progressive Field. The Indians entered the set with a 3-9 record against Chicago.
“We had three tough games against Seattle,” said manager Eric Wedge, whose team has won 12 of its last 15 games. “For these guys to come back against a team in the division, it means a great deal.”
The Sox have dropped five of their last six games, but remain tied with Minnesota atop the Central standings. The Indians, who have won eight straight games within the division, stand 91/2 games off the front-runners’ pace — the first time since June 29 that the deficit has been under double digits.
Highlighting the night was the first home run of the season from Victor Martinez, who got the Indians going with a two-run shot to left off Chicago starter John Danks in the second inning.
It was the first homer of the year for Martinez, who spent over two months on the disabled list following elbow surgery, but did not go deep in 56 games (202 at-bats) prior to the injury.   
“It’s always good to fill a column, especially when you’ve had the injuries that Vic’s had,” Wedge said. “He’s had so much time off.
“It felt really nice to hit one out of the (park),” said Martinez, who has averaged 22 homers per season over the last four years.
The Indians scored two more runs in the fourth on a double from Franklin Gutierrez to give starter Fausto Carmona an early cushion.
Carmona ran with it, shutting the White Sox out on two hits through the first five innings, but the right-hander found trouble and the showers in the sixth.
After striking out the first batter of the inning, Carmona allowed the next three hitters to reach and the Sox rallied for three runs to close to within one on a double from pinch hitter Juan Uribe.
Carmona was unable to get the final out before being replaced by Rafael Betancourt.
“He was great through five (innings),” Wedge said of Carmona, who got the win after allowing three runs on five hits. “It just got away from him in the sixth.”
“I was cruising,” Carmona said through an interpreter. “They started hitting me because I got too comfortable.”
Still, Carmona, who won his third straight start, appears to be returning to the form he displayed last year when he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting with a 19-8 record and 3.06 ERA. He’s been better nearly every time out after spending over two months on the DL with a hip strain.
“I feel more comfortable out there,” said Carmona, who is 4-3 with a 6.39 ERA in eight outings since leaving the DL, 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA over his last four. “I feel like everything is flowing better.” 
As it has done on a number of occasions as of late, Cleveland’s bullpen rode to the rescue, with a trio of relievers shutting the White Sox out on three hits over the final 3 1/3 innings.
Betancourt got the final out in the sixth before working a scoreless seventh. Rafael Perez got out of a jam with a runner on third and one out in the eighth, and Brendan Donnelly allowed two baserunners before getting Jim Thome to fly to center to end the game.
Asdrubal Cabrera led a 13-hit attack with a 3-for-4 performance that included a pair of RBIs and a run. Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta and Kelly Shoppach joined Cabrera with multi-hit games.
“We had a lot of people contribute to this one tonight,” Wedge said.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. 

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.