Milton Bradley doubled home two runs and Brian Anderson earned his first win in eight starts as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox 5-2 yesterday.
It was their fourth series win in their last five, going 11-5 over the stretch.
The White Sox's frustrations continued as they fell to 2-5 on their longest trip in 19 years, and are just 2 1/2 games ahead of the rebuilding Indians.
White Sox management has maintained that manager Jerry Manuel's job is safe, but there has been speculation the sixth-year skipper may be released during the remainder of the four-city, 14-day trip.
Bradley put Cleveland ahead 3-2 by lining a two-run double high off the left-field wall against Bartolo Colon (5-5) in the sixth inning.
Anderson (3-5) allowed two runs and five hits over six innings and won for the first time since April 9. His last outing was two innings of hitless relief in a 5-2 win in Detroit on Tuesday.
In his previous start, a 12-3 loss at Boston on May 24, Anderson allowed eight hits and eight runs -- just three earned -- in five innings.
D'Angelo Jimenez drove in both runs against Anderson, hitting his sixth homer to lead off the game and adding an RBI single in the fifth. Jimenez went 2-for-3 against Anderson and is 12-for-120 against him overall.
Danys Baez, the Indians' fourth pitcher, worked the ninth for his 11th save.
Shawn Chacon became the first eight-game winner in the National League, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 4-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Greg Norton hit his first homer of the season as the Rockies snapped a seven-game road losing streak and avoided a four-game sweep. Colorado improved to 7-22 on the road this year.
The Giants saw their five-game winning streak end, losing for the first time on their 12-game homestand.
Jason Schmidt (4-2) struck out nine and allowed only two runs in seven innings. But he was outpitched by Chacon (8-2), who won his career-best fourth straight start.
Jose Jimenez pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances.
Padres 4, Diamondbacks 1
In San Diego, Carlton Loewer won for the first time since being hurt in a hunting accident in January 2000, pitching five solid innings in San Diego's victory over Arizona.
The Padres, who have the National League's worst record, earned a split of the four-game series. It was just their seventh win in 35 games. Making his fourth start of the season, Loewer (1-1) allowed one run and five hits. It was his first win since May 4, 1999, with Philadelphia. Loewer fell out of a deer blind in Louisiana on Jan. 2, 2000, breaking his lower left leg and dislocating his ankle. While recovering, he developed shoulder problems that required season-ending surgery in July 2000. He made two appearances with the Padres in 2001, then sat out last season.
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