Shoppach hits slam, leads Indians past White Sox

[July 10, 2009]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Kelly Shoppach hit a grand slam and had a career-high five RBIs, and the Cleveland Indians built a big lead Thursday before holding on for a 10-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Five Cleveland relievers combined for 4 2-3 scoreless innings against a Chicago club that has scored 96 runs in its last 15 games. The Indians' bullpen entered with a 5.13 ERA. Tony Sipp (1-0), who retired the only two batters he faced, earned his first major league win. Kerry Wood got four outs for his 11th save.

Ryan Garko had four hits, two runs scored and an RBI for the Indians, who won for only the sixth time in 23 games since June 13. They had been outscored 38-16 in losing their previous five games against the White Sox.

Chicago pitchers combined to walk 10 batters and hit another. The White Sox also made two errors in losing for just the third time in their last 12 games.

With the score 2-all in the second, White Sox starter Clayton Richard (3-3) followed Garko's single by walking Jamey Carroll and Ben Francisco. Shoppach sent Richard's next pitch into the left-field seats for his first career grand slam.

Richard was relieved by D.J. Carrasco, who gave up three third-inning runs. The first scored when he walked Shoppach with the bases loaded, another on a double-play grounder and the third on Victor Martinez's RBI single to make it 9-2.

After batting .261 with 21 homers and 55 RBIs in 2008, his first full major league season, Shoppach is hitting only .199 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs this year.

Despite the big lead he was given, Indians starter David Huff couldn't earn the win because he lasted only 4 1-3 innings. He allowed four runs in the third, capped by Chris Getz's two-run double; Getz had four hits. Huff gave up two more runs in the fifth, including A.J. Pierzynski's homer, before getting yanked.

Cleveland starters have a 5.58 ERA, a big reason the disappointing Indians are in last place with a 34-52 record.

The Indians added a run in the sixth when Jhonny Peralta doubled, took third on right fielder Jermaine Dye's error and came home on a single by Garko, who has a nine-game hitting streak.

NOTES: Richard was used on three days of rest because White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wants to use John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Mark Buehrle at Minnesota this weekend. ... White Sox SS Alexei Ramirez was 0 for 5, including a strikeout when he couldn't check his swing while being hit by one of Huff's pitches. ... Indians LF Shin-soo Choo, who had batted .342 in his previous 15 games, went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. He also overthrew the cutoff man in the fifth. ... It was the first time in 15 games that Chicago never held the lead.

[Associated Press]

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