White Sox let early lead slip away, lose in 9th to Indians
CLEVELAND (AP) - The White Sox felt as if they played well during their nine-game road trip.
The solid play, however, couldn't ease Chicago's disappointment following a 5-4, ninth-inning loss to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.
"It's just an emptiness, leaving at all of these parks. It's tough," slugger Todd Frazier said. "(There is a) sour taste in our mouths."
Chicago finished 4-5 over the nine-game trip to Kansas City, Miami and Cleveland. Manager Robin Ventura thought the record could've been better had just a few things gone a different way.
"We've lost some late," Ventura said. "We're playing some tough teams and I think we've been in a lot of these games."
After taking a 4-2 lead in the seventh, the White Sox bullpen allowed three runs in the final three innings, including a game-ending sacrifice fly by Tyler Naquin off reliever Jacob Turner (1-2) in the ninth.
Naquin's sacrifice fly was set up by Abraham Almonte, who started the inning with a double and moved to third on a passed ball.
Chicago appeared to be well on its way to a big offensive performance in the first inning.
Danny Salazar, making his first start since returning from the 15-day DL, walked three batters before Justin Morneau drove a one-out, bases-loaded double off the wall in left field to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead.
Over the final eight innings, however, Chicago scored just a single run off of Cleveland's bullpen combination of Kyle Crockett, Mike Clevinger, Dan Otero and Andrew Miller (7-1).
"They got some depth," Ventura said of the Cleveland bullpen. "The way they're set up is, they're kind of switching off closers as far as being able to have Miller and (closer Cody) Allen go on separate days. It's a tough matchup."
Despite Cleveland's dominant bullpen, Frazier said the fault belonged to the White Sox offense.
"We didn't add on," Frazier said. "As hitters, we just got to keep going."
Carlos Rodon, who came into Thursday's start with a 2-0 record and a 1.21 ERA in three career starts at Progressive Field, allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings in a no decision.
He also forced the Indians to ground into three double plays, which Ventura thought made the left-hander's night so efficient.
"He had the groundball going," Ventura said. "Tough for him to go through a lineup like this. They loaded it with righties."
DOUBLE BUBBLE
White Sox RF Adam Eaton hit a ninth-inning grand slam Wednesday, lifting Chicago to a 10-7 win over the Indians. As impressive, he was blowing a bubble with his gum while making contact. "Sometimes you do things you're not thinking about while hitting," Eaton said, smiling. "Mine must be blowing a bubble. I'm all right with that."
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: 2B Brett Lawrie (left hamstring strain) experienced soreness in his left quadriceps, forcing him to leave Double-A Birmingham's game against Jackson after the second inning Wednesday. He is 5 for 14 on his rehab assignment with the Barons.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP James Shields makes his 14th start since being acquired from San Diego on June 4 as Chicago opens a three-game series against Oakland.
Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer takes the mound to begin a three-game set with Toronto. He is 0-1 with a 17.47 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays.