Pierzynski’s homer leads Sox past Indians

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Manny Ramirez grabbed one of his bats, waved it only the way he can, and simply stood in the on-deck circle.

That was all the White Sox needed from him.

With 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.

Ramirez, who arrived earlier in the day to help Chicago’s playoff push, was poised to bat for Brent Lillibridge before Pierzynski came through with his first homer since July 9.

“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.

This is what the White Sox imagined when they claimed Ramirez on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers — big hits and big wins.

“I’m not going to say A.J. hit a home run because of Manny,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “But when you see Manny’s presence, you have to be careful with the guy in front of him because you don’t want to face him. We didn’t have to use him.”

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 82/3 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.