CHICAGO – Bobby Bradley and Josh Naylor homered to help the Cleveland Indians overcome Aaron Civale’s injury in Monday’s 4-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Civale, who leads the majors with 10 wins, left the game with two outs in the fifth inning due to an injury to the middle finger of his right hand. The right had Eric Sogard in full account when he received a visit from manager Terry Francona and a doctor.
The loss of Civale would be a serious blow to Cleveland, which is already missing star Shane Bieber and right-hander Zach Plesac with injuries.
Naylor had two hits and the Indians improved to 2-2 during their nine-game road trip. They came within two games of the Chicago White Sox in the contest for the lead in the AL Central.
Chicago fell for the sixth time in the last eight games, and manager David Ross pulled Javier Baez out of the game after he made an embarrassing mental error. Adbert Alzolay (4-6) allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings in his comeback from the disabled list, which he visited with a blistering problem on the middle finger of his right hand.
With one out in the fourth inning and Baez on base. Anthony Rizzo flied out to left. Apparently, Baez thought it was the third out and was almost at third base when the throw came to put him out at first, sparking boos from the fans at Wrigley Field.
After Civale left the game, Bryan Shaw (2-2) got four outs for the win. Nick Wittgren came out of trouble in the seventh inning before Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchack retired one inning apiece to end the six-hit shutout.
For the Indians, Venezuelan César Hernández 4-1 with a run scored. Puerto Ricans Eddie Rosario 4-1; René Rivera 4-0. The Dominicans Amed Rosario 3-0; José Ramírez 4-0. Colombian Harold Ramírez 4-1.
For the Cubs, Venezuelans Willson Contreras 3-2; Adbert Alzolay 1-0; Rafael Ortega from 1-1. Puerto Rican Javier Báez 2-0. The Dominican Sergio Alcántara 2-0.
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