A.L. CENTRAL Indians shut out again

The majors' hottest offense was nonexistent for 18 innings.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox's only mistake in two days at Jacobs Field was made by their rookie manager.
For a moment, it didn't look like Ozzie Guillen knew his right from left.
Freddy Garcia pitched seven shutout innings and the White Sox overcame Guillen's confusing trip to the mound as Chicago blanked Cleveland for the second straight night Thursday, beating the Indians 3-0.
Garcia (8-8) improved to 4-1 since joining the White Sox, who acquired the right-hander for the playoff drive in a trade last month with Seattle.
Twenty-four hours after Mark Buehrle faced the minimum 27 batters in a two-hitter, Garcia nearly matched his new teammate, shutting down one of baseball's best-hitting lineups over the past two weeks.
"I didn't think we'd shut down that team," Guillen said. "That team can hit."
Mix-up
Garcia allowed five hits in seven-plus innings, leaving after he walked Omar Vizquel to open the eighth. That's when Guillen nearly muddled things up.
He came out to bring in lefty Damaso Marte to face left-hander Travis Hafner. But first base umpire Joe West thought Guillen was signaling with his right hand, and West walked to the bullpen to escort right-hander Cliff Politte to the mound instead.
"I screwed it up," admitted Guillen, who only briefly argued his point with West. "I used my right hand. So I told him, 'Bring me what you want.' "
Politte got Hafner to pop out before Victor Martinez's single sent Vizquel to third. However, Casey Blake bounced into an inning-ending double play to finish one of the Indians' best scoring chances in two games.
Shingo Takatsu worked the ninth for his seventh save as the White Sox stayed one-half game behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.
Garcia walked three and struck out nine, matching a club season high.
With a runner at second and two outs in the seventh, Garcia fanned Matt Lawton, who was immediately ejected by third-base umpire Mike DiMuro.
Sabathia loses
Carl Everett, reacquired on Sunday by Chicago in a trade with Montreal, had two RBIs off starter C.C. Sabathia (6-5) as the White Sox outscored the Indians 17-0 in sweeping the two-game series.
Cleveland was shut out in consecutive games for the first time since April 27-28, 1993, at Seattle. The Indians had not been shut out at home in two straight games since 1991.
Sabathia allowed seven hits in seven innings, but didn't get any run support.
"My team needed me to go out and throw a shutout," Sabathia said. "I feel like I didn't do a good enough job against Freddy. He was dealing. Everybody knew how important these games were and we probably pressed a little. But we faced two great pitchers, too."
The White Sox went up 3-0 in the sixth on Paul Konerko's RBI groundout and Everett's run-scoring single. Everett's bloop RBI single gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the fourth.