Danks steps up for White Sox in a big way

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Step up, or step aside.

It's that time of the season, not only for contending teams, but for individual players as well.

John Danks was facing that fork Sunday, and the White Sox' 23-year-old starter took the first turn and ran with it.

Pitching 7 dominant innings at Kauffman Stadium, Danks sparked a 3-0 victory over the Royals that put the Sox in solid shape heading into Tuesday's three-game series against the second-place Twins at the Metrodome.

After beating Kansas City for the second time in three games, the White Sox maintained their 2-game lead over Minnesota while lowering their magic number to 5.

"If we have a bad series, I don't think it's the end of anything," Paul Konerko said. "But if we have a good one, that should do it. That's our goal."

While Javier Vazquez, Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd all made their last starts on just three days' rest, Danks took the mound against Kansas City with a six-day breather.

He didn't look rusty and he didn't look tired. Dazzling would be a better description.

"I haven't pitched in a week," Danks said after limiting the Royals to 4 hits. "It went good. I was just trying to get ahead and tried to make them put the ball in play. For the most part, I did that."

The Sox pushed Danks back for two reasons. First, the young lefty had gone 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA in his previous 5 starts. Second, the White Sox remember Danks' second half as a rookie last season, when he was 1-7 with a 7.11 ERA before being shut down.

While Danks understands where the caution is coming from, he was determined to make a statement in this start.

"I think the rest was good, but at the same time I want to be out there as much as I can and have them give me the ball," Danks said. "I want to be relied on down the stretch. Not at any time did I feel tired.

"I did have the 2 bad (starts), but for the most part I've felt fairly consistent and getting back to where I was."

If Danks is poised for a strong finishing kick, the Sox are in better shape than they thought.

"Danks was outstanding," Guillen said. "Hopefully he doesn't have to pitch anymore the way he pitched today because we're going to need it later. But he threw the best one when we needed it."

Dewayne Wise gave the White Sox all the offense they would need in the first inning, when he singled, went to third on Jermaine Dye's single, and scored on Jim Thome's sacrifice fly that was caught by shortstop Mike Aviles in short left field.

"I heard Ozzie telling me to tag, so I went and took my chances," Wise said. "I had a good chance because (Aviles') momentum was going toward the outfield. That first inning was big. It was a spark. It kind of motivated us early to keep going."

Now, the White Sox go into their biggest series of the season.

"We go 2 games up," Guillen said. "Going to Minnesota, that gives you a little cushion. But we have to step it up there from the first day. As soon as we start taking batting practice, we've got to get it going."