Quentin powers White Sox past Orioles

Posted August 21, 2009 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

John Danks is more competitive than most, and he's often referred to as a bulldog on the mound.

But early on in Saturday night's start against the Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox' 24-year-old lefty was much more bark than bite.

"I think I was one ball away from being out of the game," Danks said.

He was right.

During a 34-pitch third inning, Danks walked leadoff hitter Ty Wiggington, who was caught stealing.

That should have made Danks relax, but he followed by walking Brian Roberts and, after Roberts stole second and Cesar Izturis reached on left fielder Carlos Quentin's error, Danks walked Adam Jones to load the bases.

"He just couldn't find the plate," said Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who had D.J. Carrasco warming up in the third inning when Danks got into trouble.

Facing Nick Markakis, the Orioles' most dangerous hitter, Danks was in danger of making an early exit when the count went to 3-2.

Another ball would have forced in a run and brought Carrasco in from the bullpen, but Danks struck out Markakis and got Nolan Reimold to pop out to second baseman Jayson Nix.

That ended the inning and wound up sparking the White Sox to a 4-1 win.

"He battled through, and after that he turned the corner and fought," Guillen said. "This kid's a warrior. No matter what he does, he's going to give you the best he has."

Earlier in the season, Danks was bothered by a blister on his left index finger, which led to a circulatory problem. He had to skip a start in late July, but Danks seemingly put the condition behind him.

But the finger trouble resurfaced against Baltimore, and it seemed to hamper Danks in the third inning.

"The finger's all right," Danks said. "It wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. Obviously, it's still a work in progress, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse. I have to throw strikes and get better."

Danks (11-8), who wound up pitching 61/3 innings while allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 6 walks, was kicking himself for not giving the defense a chance to work.

Rookie third baseman Gordon Beckham was particularly impressive with the glove, spearing a Roberts line drive leading off the game and robbing Roberts of extra bases again with a diving stop and throw to first baseman Mark Kotsay in the fifth inning.

"I'm working every day," said Beckham, a natural shortstop. "Obviously, it's good to finally make some good plays. The first one (by Roberts) is probably a double, and you never know how the game goes from there. It was a good day.

"I'm getting more comfortable and I'm not thinking about making an error. I'm just playing."

"factboxtextbold12col" White Sox 4, Orioles 1 Saturday's grade: B+. John Danks was almost booed off the mound when he got into big trouble in the third inning. But after working out of the bases-loaded jam, he allowed only 1 run in 61/3 innings and got a standing ovation after exiting the game. Good day: The Sox are 16-4 on Saturday. Hat trick: Carlos Quentin's solo shot in the second inning off Baltimore starter David Herandez was his third home run in as many games.