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CHICAGO -- Jose Ramirez had four hits with a homer and three RBIs and Danny Salazar struck out eight and allowed only three hits as the Cleveland Indians won their eighth straight game with a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. Salazar (4-5) didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning before he departed in the seventh after allowing a two-run homer to Matt Davidson.
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By then, the Indians had plenty of breathing room en route to handing the White Sox their fourth straight loss and 16th in their last 18 games.
Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley also homered for Cleveland, which also got a pair of RBI singles from Yan Gomes.
White Sox prized rookie Yoan Moncada had an RBI double for Chicago, which loaded the bases in the eighth inning before Indians reliever Nick Goody pitched out of the jam.
The Indians broke the game open in the fifth inning with four runs to build a 6-0 lead. Ramirez drove in a pair with a two-run single after Santana and Francisco Lindor produced back-to-back singles. After the White Sox elected to intentionally walk Edwin Encarnacion, Ramirez promptly singled to drive in his second and third runs of the night.
White Sox starter Derek Holland then walked Brandon Guyer with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 5-0 before Gomes followed with an RBI single off of reliever Chris Beck.
Salazar didn't allow a hit until Omar Narvaez lined a one-out single into right field before Alen Hanson followed with Chicago's second hit in the fifth. But Salazar rebounded and struck out Tim Anderson and Adam Engel to keep the White Sox scoreless.
Holland (5-10), meanwhile, struggled with his command in his 4 1/3 innings. In addition to allowing nine hits and surrendering six runs, he walked six and failed to record a strikeout.
Ramirez's leadoff solo home run in the second inning gave the Indians a 1-0 lead. Cleveland added to its lead in the fourth inning when Gomes delivered a two-out RBI single that scored Ramirez, who singled and advanced to third on a walk to Austin Jackson and a Guyer flyout.
NOTES: Indians 2B Jason Kipnis (strained right hamstring) will DH for Triple-A Columbus on Saturday and then is expected to play second base on Sunday, manager Terry Francona said Friday. Francona said Kipnis has progressed faster than expected after being placed on the disabled list July 9. ... RF Lonnie Chisenhall (right calf) is expected to resume running the bases "any day," Francona said. ... LHP Boone Logan received a second opinion after he sustained what is thought to be a left lat strain/tear on July 21. Francona said Logan -- who has posted a 4.71 ERA over 21 appearances -- is considering several options, one of which is surgery, which could be season-ending. ... White Sox 2B Yoan Moncada, widely considered to be the top prospect in baseball, hit in the cleanup spot for the first time. Manager Rick Renteria said he is experimenting where Moncada fits best in the lineup.
