White Sox topple Guardians thanks to big four-run fourth

CLEVELAND — Erick Fedde allowed one run over six innings, and Lenyn Sosa, Nicky Lopez and Andrew Benintendi doubled in a four-run fourth against Gavin Williams in his season debut in an 8-2 Sox victory over the Guardians Wednesday before a sellout crowd at Progressive Field.

Catcher Martin Maldonado, who entered with an .083 average and was 3-for-54 over his last 18 games, singled in a run in the fourth and homered against lefty Tim Herrin in the eighth, his second long ball of the season.

Sosa had three hits and Luis Robert Jr. had two to go with a diving catch in center field for the Sox (25-63), who won for the fourth time in their last six games improved to 5-4 over the AL Central leaders (53-31).

Fedde, who could be dealt to a contending team before the July 30 trade deadline, said he wasn’t at his best but lowered his ERA to 3.13. He has allowed two runs or less in seven starts and one or less in five.

“At the beginning of the game I didn’t feel I had great stuff, but settled in really well,” said Fedde, who retired 12 straight batters in one stretch. “Cutter came along really nicely, probably around the fourth inning. One of those things, battling until you can find your stuff. Trying to do that all year and keep giving us a chance to win.”

The Sox could trade multiple before the deadline.

“It’s just like surrounding the team, it’s just something that is talked about constantly, so it’s kind of hard to avoid it,” Fedde said. “But in the reality of it, I’ve been trying to say this since the first time I asked about it, start pitching bad those things go away quickly. So I’m worrying about one start at a time. I love it here, I’ve been happy here. But, you know, I’m just going to do what I do and whatever happens, happens.”

The Sox’ 12 hits were one shy of a season high. Maldonado went 82 plate appearances without a homer, the eighth-longest of his career. The exit velocity on his single was 107.7 mph, for which he received a hug and kiss from Eloy Jimenez in the dugout.

The Sox also playfully gave Maldonado the silent treatment after his homer.

“They know the work I’ve been putting in on a daily basis,” Maldonado said. “They see me in the cage grinding and I’ve been in this game a long time. They see how I, even when I’m having a tough time, my level of energy is still there. I don’t get frustrated much. They see that. Like I said, I have to lead by example.

“You see every time I get a hit, everybody gets up. The pitcher came in happy about it. It’s what teams do. They care about each other and that’s one thing we are doing right now. We care about each other.”