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Indians rally past White Sox, 5-3

Apr 9, 2010 - 4:19 AM By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO(AP) -- Fausto Carmona insisted his struggles are far from his mind. A couple more starts like this, and he just might make everyone else forget, too.

Carmona allowed one hit over six wild innings and the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 Wednesday night for their first win under manager Manny Acta.

"Under the circumstances and all the walks, he did a tremendous job just keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win," Acta said.

He walked six batters but came away with the win, perhaps setting a good tone after two miserable seasons. Considering he went a combined 13-19 during that span and spent seven weeks in the minors last year, it's no surprise that Carmona would rather look ahead than behind.

"I don't think about any of that," he said. "I think about the new year and ready to pitch."

Grady Sizemore drove in two runs, and Matt LaPorta hit a tiebreaking two-out double in the seventh after the Indians erased an early 3-0 deficit.

Chicago's Jake Peavy struggled through five innings and failed to protect the lead after Paul Konerko delivered a sacrifice fly and his second two-run homer in as many games.

The Indians scored three against Peavy in the fourth to tie it and took the lead in the seventh, when Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single against Randy Williams (0-1) and scored from second when LaPorta doubled to center against Tony Pena. They got another run in the ninth on Andy Marte's bases-loaded grounder to third.

Despite his control issues, Carmona (1-0) allowed just one hit on a night when the game-time temperature was 43.

"He was a little bit wild and on the verge of losing it, but he pulled it together," Konerko said.

Aaron Laffey and Joe Smith then shut down the White Sox before Chris Perez worked the ninth for his first save.

He walked Mark Kotsay with one out before Alex Rios struck out. Marte, who ran for LaPorta in the seventh, made a diving stop at first base on A.J. Pierzynski's grounder to end the game.

"That's something that's never been in doubt - his ability to play defense," Acta said. "That was a very nice play in a very important situation. That's what he needs to do."

Peavy had a tough act to follow after Mark Buehrle's season-opening gem and was nowhere near as dominant as he was at the end of last season, when he went 3-0 in September. Instead, the 2007 NL Cy Young winner struggled through five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits while walking two and hitting two batters.

"I'm cold and we've got no hot water in the showers," Peavy said afterward.

Not that it had anything to do with his struggles. It just added to his misery.

"I didn't have good command by any means of anything," he said.

The early lead disappeared when the Indians sent up nine batters in the fourth.

Peavy hit Mike Redmond to load the bases with one out before Michael Brantley singled in a run. Sizemore tied it with a two-out, two run single to right, and Choo walked to reload the bases before Travis Hafner ended the inning with a fly to center.

That rally quieted a crowd that was chanting "Paulie! Paulie!" after Konerko went deep in the third.

"I felt pretty good up there," Konerko said. "I was just trying to swing at good pitches."

NOTES: Andruw Jones will usually play the outfield when he's in the White Sox's lineup rather than serve as the designated hitter, manager Ozzie Guillen said. He's still part of the DH committee, though. "I'm not going to say he's not DH-ing - he might be DH-ing," Guillen said. "But Andruw's in the lineup, why not take advantage of his glove?" A winner of 10 straight Gold Gloves with Atlanta, Jones hasn't started this season. ... Acta said 1B Russell Branyan, out with a bad back, will likely start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus this week. ... Acta wouldn't put the blame on C Lou Marson for Jake Westbrook's club record-tying four wild pitches in the opener. "It's not easy to block pitches in the dirt," Acta said. "It's very unpredictable at times."