Morning Box Score: Sox Fall Short of Sweep

AP Photo/David Banks

The road to victory proved too steep for the White Sox on Thursday afternoon, as they fell to the Cleveland Indians 10-8. Pitching on three day's rest and mired in a mid-season slump, starter Clayton Richard didn't make it out of the second inning, surrendering six earned runs while recording only three outs. Four of those runs came on a Kelly Shoppach grand slam in the second, which gave Cleveland a 6-2 lead and sent Richard to the showers. The Tribe pushed their advantage to seven with three runs in the third off reliever D.J. Carrasco, but the Sox battled back in the bottom half of the inning. Chicago posted four runs on a two-out rally and then added two more in the fifth, cutting the deficit to one. That's where the comeback would end, however, as Cleveland's bullpen turned in four-plus innings of two-hit relief, stiffling the Sox offense and preserving the victory. The White Sox have a chance to put some distance between themselves and third-place Minnesota when they take the field in Minneapolis tonight for their final series before the All-Star break.