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Shoppach's three-run blast helps Indians get past White Sox

Aug 10, 2007 - 4:57 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- With huge home games coming up, Kelly Shoppach and the Cleveland Indians finished their road trek on a winning note.

Shoppach hit a key three-run homer in a five-run fourth inning as the Indians posted a 7-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

Rookie Aaron Laffey pitched 5 2/3 effective innings and Jason Michaels also drove in a pair of runs for Cleveland, which finished its nine-game road trip with a 5-4 mark.

"The guys played good, hard baseball and found a way to get things done," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "When you end up on the positive side of things, record-wise, you've gotta feel good about it."

The win also helped the Indians (65-50) move 1 1/2 games in front of the Detroit Tigers (63-51) for first place in the American League Central Division. The Tigers lost to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-1, earlier Thursday.

However, things do not get easier for Cleveland, which returns home to host a three-game series vs. the streaking New York Yankees as well as a two-game set with Detroit.

"You always try to win series," Wedge said. "(But) it's one day at a time. We're going back to Cleveland, and we'll turn our focus to New York."

Both New York (63-51), which has won five of six, and Detroit are only one-half game behind the Seattle Mariners (63-49) for the lead in the AL wild card race.

After the White Sox built a 3-0 lead against Laffey after three innings, Shoppach and the Indians rallied in the next frame.

Following an RBI single by Michaels that gave Cleveland its first run, Ryan Garko scored all the way from second base on a fielding error by third baseman Josh Fields to cut the deficit to 3-2.

With one out and runners on first and second, Shoppach hammered the first pitch he saw from Chicago starter Mark Buehrle over the right field wall, giving the Indians a 5-3 advantage.

"In my first at-bat, (Buehrle) got me to roll over on the same pitch," Shoppach said. "I'm assuming in that next at-bat he wanted to get a double-play ball, so he threw the same thing, but I made a little adjustment."

That was enough for the 22-year-old Laffey (1-1), who allowed four runs, five hits and three walks en route to his first major league victory. The lefthander, who was called up from Class AAA Buffalo last Saturday, also struck out four.

"I think my stuff tonight was better than my debut, but I pitched up in the zone tonight, and that hurt me," Laffey said. "It was really exciting for me to be pitching against Buehrle. He's a guy I've looked up to as a lefthanded starter."

Despite the win, Laffey was sent back down to Buffalo after the game to make room for infielder Chris Gomez, who was claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles earlier Thursday.

"I knew there was the possibility (of being sent back down)," Laffey said. "I'm not in any way disappointed. I got my first win tonight, and I'm happy with that. I'm going to take what I learned up here and execute pitches to get back."

Rookie reliever Jensen Lewis pitched 1 1/3 frames and Rafael Perez hurled a 1-2-3 eighth before closer Joe Borowski worked around a two-out solo homer by Juan Uribe to record his 32nd save in 36 opportunities.

In the Indians' half of the fifth, consecutive singles by Victor Martinez - who had three hits - and Garko were followed by a run-scoring double by Jhonny Peralta, increasing Cleveland's lead to three and driving Buehrle out of the game. Michaels followed with an RBI groundout to make it 7-3.

Buehrle (9-7) surrendered seven runs - six earned - and eight hits in four-plus innings. The lefthander, who walked two and struck out two, fell to 8-11 lifetime vs. the Indians.

"It was just one of those nights that you don't want to see too often," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It was a struggle for him tonight. He just had a bad night, (and) we didn't make plays behind him. The only people who don't make errors are the ones that sit beside me on the bench."

A.J. Pierzynski also hit a solo homer for the White Sox, who have dropped two of three following a four-game winning streak.