Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber struck out a career-high 13 batters Sunday against the White Sox and was in line for third win of the season before closer John Axford allowed Chicago to rally for a 4-3 win in the ninth inning.
Kluber's previous best was 11 strikeouts, which he achieved April 24 against the Royals.
He fell behind early, as Jose Abreu hit a solo home run with two outs in the first inning. But Kluber would soon settle down and eventually struck out a franchise-record seven straight batters. The streak started with Gordon Beckham striking out with one out in the third inning, and ended when Kluber issued a two-out walk to Leury Garcia in the fifth.
The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and two walks in eight innings, lowering his ERA from 4.14 to 3.60. His next scheduled start is for Friday against the Rays.