One day after team leader Victor Martinez said the club was lacking energy and fire, and hours after manager Eric Wedge acknowledged the increasing speculation over his job security, the Indians delivered a much-needed 9-4 victory over the White Sox in the opener of a three-game set.

An offense that labored all weekend in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Tigers came to life early and often against Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd. The Indians scored two runs in the first, four in the fourth and three in the sixth, which was Floyd's last inning of work.

Shin-Soo Choo notched an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the fourth. Jhonny Peralta, seemingly breaking out of a season-long slump, added a two-run single later in the fourth to break the game open and give the Indians a 6-0 lead.

Right-hander Carl Pavano gave back some of that lead but nonetheless had a solid outing. The Sox didn't get to him until they posted a pair in the fifth. Mark DeRosa's stellar diving snag of a hard-hit Alexei Ramirez grounder that inning prevented further damage.

The Indians made it a 9-2 game in the sixth. Martinez's RBI single knocked Floyd out of the game. The Tribe piled on against the Sox bullpen, with Peralta contributing an RBI single and pinch-hitter Ryan Garko coming through with a sacrifice fly.

Pavano hit another rough patch in the seventh and didn't make it out of the inning. The Sox scored a pair that inning, but the Tribe's offensive output was too much for them to overcome. Aaron Laffey, recently converted to a reliever, turned in another solid relief outing.