White Sox end four-game skid with 4-2 win over Indians

Josh Fields knows what he has to do - be it with the White Sox or another major-league team.

"I think if you hit, you play," Fields said after doing a bit of both in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

After sitting out Friday to make way for top prospect Gordon Beckham, Fields was back in the lineup and he responded by going 2-for-4 with a solo home run (No. 3) while helping the Sox snap a four-game losing streak.

There is a growing feeling that Fields can hit all he wants, but it won't make a difference now that Beckham is wearing a White Sox uniform and also playing third base.

After sitting behind Joe Crede in each of the past three seasons, Fields has gotten used to dealing with adversity.

"If I keep swinging, I'll make it tough on them to make decisions," Fields said. "I don't think (Beckham) brings any more pressure. I have to hit whether he's here or not."

Fields is batting .349 (15-for-43) over his last 11 games to hike his average to .244. But he entered Saturday ranked fifth in the American League with 55 strikeouts, and he hasn't been hitting with as much power as expected.

Looking for more offense from the position, the Sox called on Beckham after Wednesday's shutout loss to the A's.

"The last couple of games, Josh has played pretty good," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Maybe Beckham pushed him a little more."

If Beckham is intent on pushing him out the door, Fields is handling it well.

"We have a good relationship," Fields said. "He definitely brings humor and fun to the locker room. I enjoyed playing with him in spring training."

The White Sox are nearly at the one-third point of the regular season, and the offense has been lagging for extended stretches so far.

The Sox got only 7 hits Saturday, but they finally ended a scoreless streak that stretched to 232/3 innings while getting strong efforts from starter Gavin Floyd and the bullpen.

"We didn't have that many hits, but we still played good," said Guillen, who still believes the streaky Sox are good enough to win the AL Central.

"If I didn't believe in them, I will call (GM) Kenny Williams and tell him," Guillen said. "That's the relationship I have with Kenny. I think we have enough talent out there to win. I think right now we have a good ballclub, especially with the way the division is playing out right now. Wow, we should be like 20 games out and we're hanging in there."

For now, so is Josh Fields.