White Sox reliever Dennis Cook said he wasn’t cheating, but he didn’t mind when Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove had home plate umpire Tim McClelland check his glove in the seventh and eighth innings of Sunday’s game.
“If he thinks I was cheating to get batters out, it’s his job to question it,” Cook said. “The ump checked me and didn’t find anything.”
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Hargrove said his pitcher, Jack Morris, “came off the mound and said there was pine tar on the ball. So I had it checked.”
Left-hander Cook pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-hit scoreless relief as the Sox split the series and remained within percentage points of the first-place Indians. Cook has not permitted a run in eight innings in his last seven outings.
M+A+S+H report: Catcher Ron Karkovice was forced from the game when he reinjured his left knee trying to block a pitch in the sixth inning. His condition will be re-evaluated Monday.
Frank Thomas suffered a split lip when he was hit with catcher Sandy Alomar’s one-bounce throw in the seventh inning while stealing his first base of the year. Julio Franco struck out on a 3-2 pitch as Thomas was breaking on a hit-and-run play.
Century marks: Thomas’ 412-foot home run was his 33rd of the season and No. 100 for the Sox this season. When winner Jason Bere (10-2) struck out Paul Sorrento in the fifth, he became the first Sox pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in 1994. Bere fanned seven in his 5 2/3 innings.
Indians tidbits: Losing pitcher Morris (8-6) turned in a strong seven innings, throwing 128 pitches, including six swinging strikes in the final inning.
Carlos Baerga’s sixth-inning double extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Baerga singled in the eighth, giving him 11 hits in 17 at-bats (.647) for the series.