Indians win 3rd straight

Asdrubal Cabrera homered off Chicago starter Jake Peavy to knot the game 2-2 with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning.

CLEVELAND - Ozzie Guillen knows it's too early to panic.

On the other hand, the Chicago White Sox's manager will not soon forget the 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians yesterday.

"I'm going to sleep like a baby," Guillen said. "I'm going to wake up every two hours and cry."

It's easy to see why Guillen would feel that way. The White Sox were five outs away from a win before everything fell apart, dropping Chicago to 4-8.

Asdrubal Cabrera homered with one out in the eighth off starter Jake Peavy to tie the game. Left-hander Matt Thornton (1-1) came on to face two left-handed hitters, but retired neither. Grady Sizemore singled to center and scored easily when Shin-Soo Choo lined a 1-2 pitch to the wall in left-center for a double.

"I was on the middle with every pitch," Thornton said. "Every pitch I threw, fastball, slider, went right on through. That's it."

Jensen Lewis (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth. Chris Perez worked the ninth for his third save in four chances.

From a pitching standpoint, the game had gone perfectly into the eighth for Guillen. He planned to have Peavy face Cabrera and then go to Thornton for the left-handed hitters. The plan didn't work.

"Peavy was throwing the ball well," Guillen said. "Cabrera's a way better hitter right-handed than lefty. That was the plan no matter what and then have Thornton for Sizemore and Choo, and then get the ball to Bobby (Jenks). It didn't work out very good."

"I made pitches when I had to, up until that last one," said Peavy, who is winless in three starts.

While the Indians put together a late rally, Guillen didn't blame his pitchers for the loss.

"Our offense has to be better," he said. "It's not fair for our pitching staff every time they make one mistake to lose the game. We've been doing that for a week and a half or two weeks. We're not swinging the bats good at all."

The Indians won their third consecutive game.

Perez pitched a perfect ninth filling in as closer for the injured Kerry Wood. Perez had struggled in his last two outings, blowing a save last Sunday and failing to retire any of the three batters he faced in Monday's home opener.

"He came in and did what we envisioned him doing," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "He pounded the strike zone and got the save for us."

Jake Westbrook took a two-hit shutout into the sixth, but Mark Teahen drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on Alexi Ramirez's double. The White Sox had runners on first and third with one out, but Carlos Quentin hit into a double play.

Chicago took the lead in the seventh. Andruw Jones started the rally with a one-out single and took second on a groundout. Alex Rios doubled to left-center with two outs on Westbrook's first pitch.

Westbrook, who hasn't won since beating the Angels on April 8, 2008, gave up two runs in seven innings. He had surgery on his right elbow in June of that season and missed all of 2009.

"He pitched the way he is, like a veteran," Acta said. "He didn't have his best stuff, but he battled and gave us a great outing."

Cleveland's first run came on an unusual play. Sizemore tripled to left-center and scored when Choo lined an apparent double to right. However, when Travis Hafner came to bat, the white Sox appealed at first base, claiming Choo missed the bag. First base umpire Dan Bellino called Choo out. Under Rule 10.06 d, Choo lost his base hit and the play was ruled a fielder's choice with an RBI.

Choo thought he had touched the bag.

I felt my foot," he said. "If I don't feel anything, I won't go to second base. Long fielder's choice."

NOTES: Guillen said RHP Freddy Garcia, who is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in two starts will be skipped in the rotation and won't start again until April 24 against Seattle. ...Wood, sidelined since spring training with a sore back, threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday. ... Westbrook retired the side on five pitches in the fourth. ... Indians players wore brown hats made of recycled material. The Indians are among several Cleveland-area companies stressing environmental awareness.