Cora's single ignites Tribe past Chicago

His hit sparked the 3-run, sixth inning rally that led to the 8-6 victory.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Alex Cora's tiebreaking single barely reached the outfield -- but it gave the Cleveland Indians a needed jolt.
Cora grounded a ball through a hole in the Chicago infield and Travis Hafner followed with a two-run double to help the Indians beat the White Sox 8-6 Thursday night.
"That was savvy baseball by a real professional," said Indians third baseman Aaron Boone of Cora's strategy-foiling hit.
"We needed a run and what he did is just the kind of thing to give the whole team a burst of energy. It was a big lift. You could feel it."
Victor Martinez hit his first homer of the season and drove in two, and Hafner and Ben Broussard also had two RBIs apiece as the Indians pounded out 10 hits to avoid a three-game sweep. They came in with the lowest batting average (.211) and fewest runs (31) in the American League.
Bruised left shoulder
White Sox left fielder Carl Everett left in the first inning with a bruised left shoulder after running into the left-field wall trying to catch Broussard's two-run triple.
"I think he's OK," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Hopefully he'll be ready tomorrow."
Rafael Betancourt (1-0) pitched two innings for his first win since Aug. 5 at Toronto. Arthur Rhodes gave up an unearned run in the eighth and Bob Wickman worked the ninth for his third save.
Cora's simple grounder snapped a 5-all tie in the sixth.
Jhonny Peralta drew a walk off Orlando Hernandez (1-1) to open the inning. Reliever Neal Cotts then threw a wild pitch, sending Peralta to second before walking Coco Crisp.
Cora fouled off a bunt attempt. On Cotts' next pitch, with third baseman Joe Crede charging in and shortstop Jose Uribe moving to cover third base, Cora swung away and grounded the ball through the hole at shortstop.
"He did that on his own," said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "He recognized the play and was aggressive. His instincts are fantastic."
Cora said he intended to try and bunt the second pitch, too, then changed his mind when he saw the infielders move.
"I took a chance," he admitted. "It was luck that it went through. I know how they like to play. They took a gamble and so did I."
Guillen credited Cora for winning the game.
"He had a tremendous game, making a couple of big defensive plays, too," he said. "Alex Cora beat us."
Hafner followed with a double off the wall in left for an 8-5 lead.
Konerko gets fourth homer
Paul Konerko hit a three-run homer, his fourth, to tie the score at 4 in the third after Indians starter Scott Elarton issued two walks.
"I don't mind giving up the homer so much, but the two free passes were the problem," said Elarton.
Willie Harris' RBI single in the fourth put Chicago ahead 5-4, but Martinez tied it with a line shot homer to right in the fifth.
"That was good for Victor and great for us," said Wedge. "He put a good swing on that ball."
Broussard's two-run triple keyed a four-run first that put Cleveland ahead 4-1.
Martinez snapped an 0-for-16 slump with an RBI single and Broussard followed with a drive that carried over the head of Everett, who stumbled into the wall trying to make the catch. Two runs scored before center fielder Aaron Rowand could retrieve the ball and keep Broussard from an inside-the-park homer.