Sox strike early, gain confidence, end skid
It sure seems like the White Sox' offense responded to manager Ozzie Guillen's angry words Tuesday night.
Two days after Guillen questioned whether his hitters were good enough to get the job done, the Sox battered the Royals in a 9-5 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.
Just don't expect Guillen to tee off again the next time the White Sox come up empty.
"It's not healthy for myself,'' Guillen said. "Believe me, it's not healthy.''
Guillen was feeling much better after the Sox snapped a three-game losing streak.
"If there's one guy more happy than anybody in the clubhouse, it's me,'' Guillen said. "I'm the biggest fan. Every time they play great, it's a reward for me and my coaches.''
The White Sox got off to a great start against Royals starter Zack Greinke, scoring 2 runs in the first inning on Carlos Quentin's 15th home run and adding 4 more in the second.
"We jumped on (Greinke) early and that gave us confidence,'' said A.J. Pierzynski, who hit a 2-run homer in the second. "That's what we need. We have guys that can hit.''
Even though he had some serious questions about that Sunday, Guillen said he never lost complete faith in his offense.
"I still believe we have great talent out there,'' he said. "We have a powerful lineup, and today it was awesome. It was fun. Even guys that didn't get hits hit the ball pretty hard. I'm not saying get a hit every time. Just give yourself a chance and compete.''
Walker watch: When Ozzie Guillen said big changes were coming Tuesday in the wake of Sunday's disappointing loss to the Rays, he put himself and hitting coach Greg Walker on notice as well as his slumping hitters.
Guillen was asked about Walker's status before Tuesday's win over Kansas City.
"We talked about it,'' Guillen said. "How many times have I protected Greg Walker? I put Greg Walker's name out there because my name was out there, too.''
Guillen said Walker is secure for now.
"The players are going to dictate that,'' Guillen said. "When I have to fire one of my coaches, I do it right away. I did in the past. I just begged the players a couple days ago to start hitting for him because I know how much this kills him.
"He's our hitting coach. I'm protecting my coaches the most I can as long as they work, as long as they do what they're supposed to do, and as long as they're here every day with the players to help them. He's doing that. He's doing more.''
My kind of town: After spending the past four seasons with the Oakland Athletics, Nick Swisher is gradually adapting to playing in Chicago.
"It's funny, a lot of things are written and then we go out and score 9 runs,'' said Swisher, who hit a solo homer in the sixth inning Tuesday. "I think you guys should write more bad stuff about us.
"It's a little different out there (Oakland) than here. They said when I got here you have to have thick skin.''
White Sox 9, Royals 5
At the plate: The Sox tied a season high with 4 home runs. They're also 14-5 this season when hitting 2 or more homers. A.J. Pierzynski hit a 2-run shot in the second inning, his first HR since April 22. Nick Swisher hit his first home run at the Cell since April 26. Alexei Ramirez (3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) had his second straight 3-hit game.
On the mound: Starter Gavin Floyd pitched 7 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits. Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
-- Scot Gregor