Wednesday afternoon in the wrap up of a three-game set at Progressive Field, new starter Carlos Carrasco looked solid as the Indians built a 4-1 lead over Chicago, but then walks and the long ball blew it as Chicago rallied to beat the Indians 6-4 and take home a three-game sweep.

The loss was cemented when relief pitcher Justin Germano couldn’t find the plate, then threw a meatball to Paul Konerko who crushed it 375 feet for a three-run homer that put Chicago up for good 5-4 in the 8th inning.

To put in perspective how bad the Indians were in late innings of the series, the Sox scored 20 runs in the three games, and 13 of them came in the 8th inning or later.

The Indians built the 4-1 lead with a run in the 3rd to tie it, then another in the 4th, and then two more in the 5th. Shin-Soo Choo was 3-for-5 with a double, and continues to be very good at home, hitting .335 at Progressive Field this season.

The Sox hit three homers though in the contest, but none bigger than the Konerko blast, his 33rd of the season, that deflated what could have been an Indians win to at least salvage one game in the three-game set.

The Tribe wrapped up the 9 game homestand at 3-6, and are now 8-7 vs Chicago this season. They will board a plane and head out west for their first visit to Seattle starting with a game tomorrow night.

Indians manager Manny Acta talks about the teams 4-3 loss to the White Sox and the gutsy outing the team had.

With Manny Ramirez waiting to make his debut for Chicago a few feet away, A.J. Pierzynski connected for a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Frank Herrmann in the ninth inning to lift the White Sox to a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.”I finally got some protection,” Pierzynski joked. “The guy [Ramirez] got a standing ovation just for coming out in the on-deck circle.”

Pierzynski drove an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right field, and as he rounded the bases, Ramirez retreated to Chicago’s dugout, where the fun-loving slugger celebrated his new teammate’s heroics by high-fiving the rest of the White Sox as if he was the one who had homered.

Beyond getting a big win on the final day of August, Jackson saved Chicago’s overworked bullpen by going deep in the game. He threw 129 pitches.

“He was amazing,” said Pierzynski, who was glad he could reward Jackson’s hard work. “It’s been so long since I hit a home run I almost forgot what to do.”

This came after Indians pitchers Justin Masterson (5-12), Tony Sipp, and Joe Smith combined to scatter four hits and only give up one run through eight innings. Masterson, wildly inconsistent in his first full season with Cleveland, blanked the White Sox for the first 7 1/3 innings before Mark Teahen’s RBI single tied it 1-all.

While it was Pierzynski who hit the decisive homer, Edwin Jackson (3-0) also was a star for Chicago. The right-hander struck out 10 and allowed seven hits in 8 2/3 innings to help the White Sox keep pressure on first-place Minnesota in the AL Central. Jackson gave up Shelley Duncan’s leadoff homer in the seventh, and appeared on his way to a complete game before the Indians rallied for two runs in the ninth.

He gave up a pair of one-out singles, but Guillen stuck with him — one batter too long. Jason Donald hit a two-run single and Guillen lifted Jackson to bring in closer Bobby Jenks, who had blown three saves in his last seven tries. Jenks gave up a single to pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta before retiring Michael Brantley on a comebacker for his 25th save.

Beyond getting a big win on the final day of August, Jackson saved Chicago’s overworked bullpen by going deep in the game. He threw 129 pitches. “He was amazing,” said Pierzynski, who was glad he could reward Jackson’s hard work. “It’s been so long since I hit a home run I almost forgot what to do.”

The Tribe ends their home stand today against the Chi-Sox with a 12:05 start time. Recently recalled Carlos Corrasco (0-0) will face Chicago’s Freddy Garcia (11-5).

Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta talks about injured first baseman Matt LaPorta’s progress, and the calling up of AAA pitcher Carlos Corrasco to pitch in tomorrow’s noon start game…

Chicago White Sox’s newly aquired outfielder Manny Ramirez pretends not to know english and has bench coach Joey Cora translate for him in this farce of a press conference. Just another Manny being Manny moment…

The Indians lost to the Chicago White Sox tonight 10-6. It sounds pretty simple, but this four hour and eleven minute, twelve inning marathon was everything but simple. There were a combined three home runs, a hit batter, thirty-five hits, sixteen runs, and an error.

Tribe starter Mitch Talbot (8-11, 4.61 ERA) went five innings giving up five runs on ten hits and struck out two. He did not figure in the decision. The Sox got to him early when with two men on base in the first, Chicago first baseman Paul Konerko hit a 2 RBI double that set the tone for most of the game. Chicago scored three more in the second off Talbot to put the tribe down 5-0. When asked about his outing tonight Talbot said, “Today was kind of a frustrating day, you know. I didn’t feel that they hit a lot of balls hard. I think they found some holes and hit them where the defense wasn’t.”

Tribe reliever Justin Germano gave up an Alex Rios solo home run in the sixth to make it 6-0. Rios had an outstanding night going 5-6, with a home run, a walk and 4 RBI.

The Indians started their comeback in the fourth inning on a Jayson Nix two-run home run off of Sox ace Mark Buehrle (12-10, 3.95 ERA) to make it 6-2. Nix would be tossed from the game in the seventh for a disagreement with home plate umpire Bill Welke. Buehrle went six innings giving up three runs on six hits and struck out five. He also had a no-decision. Cleveland made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth scoring three runs off of Chicago closer Bobby Jenks to tie it at six and push the game into extra innings.

Both teams had a scoreless tenth, then the wheels came off as Tribe pitcher Rafael Perez gave up four runs in the top of the eleventh to put the Sox up for good and take the loss. Scott Linebrink had a scoreless outing for the win.

What got lost in the game was a good outing by designated hitter Travis Hafner who went 4-5 with three doubles. As a side note, Chicago second baseman Gordon Bekham was hit in the seventh and left the game with a bruised right hand. X-rays came out negative, and he is listed as day-to-day.

Righty Justin Masterson will toe the rubber for the Tribe against Chicago’s Edwin Jackson in game two of the three game series on Tuesday.

Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta talks about the tough extra-inning loss to the White Sox, Travis Hafner’s resurgence in the middle of the lineup, and Jayson Nix’s comments to the umpire that got him tossed from the game…

It looks like the wait and rumors are finally over. Manny Ramirez is now going to set up shop on the south side of Chicago. The White Sox have acquired the somewhat “unique” outfielder on a waiver claim from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The fans that are coming to the ballpark today hoping to see him will be disappointed. His flight arrangements have him arriving in Cleveland around 6:00 tomorrow morning, and he is not expected to be in the lineup until Wednesday.

When Tribe manager Manny Acta was asked about the Chi-Sox getting him he said, “They’re adding a very good hitter.” Acta also said that he hasn’t had a chance to see much of Ramirez throughout his career, but knows what he has seen on television.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said, “I hope he can help us.” Whe Guillen was asked if he had any contact with Ramirez throughout this ordeal he said, “The last time I talked to Manny[Ramirez], he was playing for the Cleveland Indians”.

Chicago first baseman Mark Kotsay also chimed in saying, “Hopefully he comes in and does everything he can do to help this club win”. When Kotsay was asked if Ramirez’s “colorful” personality would be a disruption in the clubhouse he said, “There’s enough personalities in here that are mood-changers, day-changers, night-changers, whatever. This clubhouse can’t be changed.”

Ramirez served a 50 game suspention last year for failing a drug test that found an abnormal amount of estrogen in his system. He has been labeled a quitter by people in both Boston and Los Angeles, and he was thrown out of yesterday’s game for arguing a called strike. This and other “Manny being Manny” moments are more the norm than an oddity.

Chicago is in second place in the American League central and are 4.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins. The White Sox have been in the market for another big bat for a while, and in the words of most people in the Sox clubhouse, “hopefully” Manny is the man.

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen talks about picking up former Cleveland Indians slugger Manny Ramirez, and what it means to his ball club…