Abreu OK after being beaned by Indians reliever, Sox top Indians
Jose Abreu is the unquestioned leader of the White Sox, a fact that was cemented even more Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Up at the plate in the eighth inning, Abreu was hit in the helmet by a 96-mph fastball from Indians relief pitcher James Karinchak.
"I know he didn't try to, but our man's on the ground," shortstop Tim Anderson said. "We were upset."
As he fell to the ground in a daze, Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez checked on Abreu as Sox manager Tony La Russa rushed out of the dugout.
La Russa had some words for Perez and both benches emptied as Abreu slowly got to his feet.
No punches were thrown and Abreu stayed in the game, even hugging a distraught Karinchak on his way to first base.
It was a happy ending instead of a frightening one, and the White Sox beat the Indians 6-4 in front of 36,123.
Like Anderson, La Russa said he knows Karinchak wasn't trying to bean Abreu.
"I made it clear when I was out there that I knew it wasn't intentional," La Russa said. "But the (pitch) was called and that guy's really a good pitcher, but today his command was not there. It's a scary situation.
"That's why I was upset, because you call a (pitch) and that guy didn't have his command and our guy got popped. He stayed in the game so we're thankful."
Anderson broke the 4-4 tie with a single in the eighth and Abreu forced in a run after getting hit.
Eloy update:
Eloy Jimenez was not in the White Sox's lineup Friday night, missing his second straight game with right groin tightness.
"Had some improvement," manager Tony La Russa said. "Keep our fingers crossed for the weekend."
After rupturing his left pectoral tendon late in soring training, Jimenez rejoined the Sox on Monday and hit a 3-run homer in the eighth inning Tuesday night to spark a 5-3 win at Kansas City.
Turning it around:
Acquired in a trade from the Cubs Thursday, Ryan Tepera likes the look of the White Sox's bullpen, including former teammate Craig Kimbrel.
"You can pretty much run any guy out there in any inning and you're going to have success," Tepera said. "It's going to be a fun spot to kind of see what our roles are and how it all plays out. But definitely, I feel like we're loaded."
In 43 games with the Cubs, Tepera was 0-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 0.78 WHIP.
The right-hander debuted with the Sox Friday night it was a forgettable outing. Coming on in the eighth inning with the White Sox leading 4-3, Franmil Reyes hit a mammoth home run on Tepera's third pitch.
After giving up a single and a walk Tepera was replaced by Jose Ruiz, who worked out of the jam.
Roster moves:
Second baseman Cesar Hernandez and relief pitcher were in uniform for the White Sox Friday night.
To clear roster spots, infielder Danny Mendick and reliever Ryan Burr were optioned to Class AAA Charlotte.
Mendick hit .195 with 2 home runs and 19 RBI in 58 games with the Sox and Burr was 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 19 appearances.