Hammy-handed win: Guardians edge White Sox when Chicago's Mike Tauchman is thrown out after pulling his hamstring trying to score the tying run

CLEVELAND — For the second straight day, the Guardians didn't do much offensively. For the second straight day, it was good enough for a win. Cleveland managed only three hits on another cold day at the ballpark but got a positive outing from left-hander Logan Allen and an insurance home run from Carlos Santana to beat the White Sox 3-2 at Progressive Field on Wednesday night. The game ended in bizarre fashion after Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase allowed the White Sox to load the bases with two outs in the ninth inning. Miguel Vargas followed with a single to left that scored one, but as Mike Tauchman was rounding third and attempting to score the game-tying run, he pulled up with a hamstring injury halfway down the third-base line. Catcher Austin Hedges walked down the base line and gingerly tagged out the injured Tauchman on the ground for the final out and the win. It likely would have been a close play at the plate had Tauchman not gotten injured. "Obviously terrible news for the guy that got hurt. You never want to see that," Allen said. "But I guess we'll take wins anyway we can get them, as ugly as they come. A win's a win." "It's great for the team," Santana said. "We're trying to win the game." It was another rough appearance for Clase, a three-time All-Star who put up one of the greatest regular seasons ever for a closer last year. He got his first save but his ERA is at 6.00 through his first six appearances. "I just see the league having a good plan against him," Hedges said. "He's been the best pitcher in the world. You better have a good game plan. Otherwise, he's just going to roll right through you. I think teams got sick and tired of him making it look easy. Now it's time for us to make an adjustment." "Emmanuel Clase is still the best pitcher in the world," manager Stephen Vogt said. "He's gotta make some adjustments. He needs to pitch maybe a little bit differently and get back to hitting his spots. They have a good game plan and they're getting to him right now." Allen came within an out of notching his first win, allowing an unearned run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings. He threw 93 pitches, including 52 for strikes that led to four strikeouts. "I feel like I avoided a lot of hard contact, put a lot of pressure on those guys to make decisions around the plate," Allen said. "Anytime I'm out there I want to finish the inning, but it's never a bad thing when you hand the ball to the great bullpen we have out there. But, yeah, I wanted to finish that inning." An Allen walk and Jose Ramirez error led to Chicago's first run in the first. Ramirez has been uncharacteristically shoddy in the field thus far, committing five errors over his first 10 games. The White Sox returned the favor in the bottom of the first, with Sean Burke walking the first two batters — Chicago walked five straight, including three at the end of Cleveland's 1-0 win Tuesday. The Guardians scored twice when Johnkensy Noel delivered an RBI single up the middle and Ramirez scored on a wild pitch. Noel's hit snapped an 0-for-15 skid, giving Cleveland its first hit with runners in scoring position in 20 tries. Ramirez took a risk not many players would when he broke for the plate. "The thing is he's ready for it. He's always looking for the ball in the dirt," Vogt said. "He's always looking for the next play. He wants to take the extra 90 feet. I don't even think that ball got off the dirt. I haven't seen the replay, but just for him to be able to see it right away and go and beat the pitcher there, he was looking to make a baseball play and get it." Santana belted a solo shot to put the Guardians in front 3-1 in the third, connecting on a 3-2 pitch and lining it into the seats in right-center an estimated 410 feet. "Carlos is showing exactly why he has 15 years in the big leagues," Vogt said. "He's a consistent at-bat. I think that's something that we were missing in the middle of our order last year and this year, is that constant consistent Grade A at-bat. The White Sox made franchise history in dubious fashion, losing consecutive games for the first time despite allowing the opposition to three or fewer hits. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.