Late White Sox rally keeps winning streak alive

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CHICAGO - Seconds before Orlando Cabrera's walk-off single, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen turned to bench coach Joey Cora. “I remember [Cabrera] in Montreal,” Guillen said. “He was the best clutch hitter I ever saw. All of a sudden, Joey said, ‘He did it in Anaheim, too.' ” You can add Chicago to that list - Cabrera's single to center with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Sox to a 3-2 victory over Cleveland. Cabrera's hit chased home Dewayne Wise, who scored from second. “I just got a good pitch to hit today,” Cabrera said. “I just got lucky.” Lucky or not, the Sox (48-35) will take it. Down, 2-1, with two outs and the bases empty in the 10th, the Sox rallied for one of their more improbable wins of the season. Alexei Ramirez's solo homer off Indians closer Joe Borowski tied the game, then Wise singled, stole second, and raced home when Cabrera lined a Borowski fastball in front of center fielder Grady Sizemore. Wise's headfirst slide across home plate set off an extended on-field celebration. “It was very exciting,” Wise said. “We battled, just kept going.” Starting pitcher John Danks watched the comeback from the clubhouse. “Me and [Scott] Linebrink, we're sitting in there together ... at no point, even when we went down in the 10th, did we think we were out of the game,” he said. “We knew we had a good part of the lineup coming up.” The Sox did have Joe Crede and Nick Swisher up, but neither reached base. Ramirez, the No. 8 hitter, and Wise, a pinch-hitter, came through. “If we want to win, that's the way we have to play,” Guillen said of his team's 25-man contribution. “We cannot rely on the same guys every day,” Guillen added. Tuesday's heroes were of the unsung variety - Cabrera, Ramirez, Wise, Danks and winning pitcher Adam Russell. Danks matched Cleveland starter Cliff Lee pitch-for-pitch for eight innings. “I knew who I was going up against,” Danks said of Lee, who entered the game 11-1 with a 2.34 ERA. “Cliff Lee, he's been the best pitcher in the American League all year. I knew that I was one pitch away from giving them a one-run lead ... at that point, the game's over.” Danks never blinked, however. His lone mistake was surrendering a solo homer to Kelly Shoppach in the top of the sixth - he left after the eight innings with the score tied, 1-1. Cleveland (37-47) grabbed a one-run lead in the top of the 10th on a home run by Casey Blake off reliever Matt Thornton. In the bottom half of the inning, Crede grounded out to short and Swisher struck out before Ramirez took Borowski deep to extend the contest. Ramirez's deep drive to left just cleared the left field wall. “It was awesome,” Danks said. “He acted like he got it real good, but the ball was not carrying real well today. To see that ball get out ... it was very dramatic. “When it got out, me and Linebrink jumped up and high-fived each other. To then manufacture another run ... it was awesome. So fun to watch.” Cabrera said Ramirez had the potential for greatness. “He's a solid player,” he said. “I think he has tremendous ability. He can become one of the best second basemen - or whatever position he plays - in the big leagues.”