White Sox crush Guardians with five home runs

CLEVELAND — Elvis Andrus hit one of Chicago’s five home runs off rookie Hunter Gaddis — backing up his controversial comments about the Guardians before the game — and the White Sox cut Cleveland’s lead in the AL Central to three games, winning Thursday 8-2.

Andrus hit his fifth-inning blast off Gaddis (0-2), who became the first Cleveland pitcher to allow five homers in a game since Luis Tiant in 1969.

On Wednesday, Andrus surprised reporters by telling reporters that he expected the Guardians, divisional leaders, “to fall apart the closer we get.”

Gavin Sheets hit a two-run homer in the second inning, which started the barrage of homers off Gaddis. Andrew Vaughn, as well as Cubans Yoán Moncada and Yasmani Grandal, joined Andrus in hitting the wall off the right-hander.

Lance Lynn (7-5) limited the Guardians to two runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander is 5-0 in his last seven starts.

For the White Sox, Venezuelan Elvis Andrus 5-1 with a run scored and an RBI. Cubans Yoán Moncada 5-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, José Abreu 5-3 with two RBIs, Yasmani Grandal 3-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Dominican Eloy Jiménez 4-0 with a run scored.

For the Guardians, the Dominicans Amed Rosario 5-2 with an RBI, José Ramírez 4-0, Óscar Gonzalez 4-1. The Venezuelan Andrés Giménez 4-1 with a run scored.