Sox' bats deliver, but Dunn strikes out

The White Sox finally broke out the bats in Saturday's 9-2 interleague victory over the Dodgers at U.S. Cellular Field.

Well, most of them did.

Adam Dunn had yet another forgettable day at the plate, going 0-for-4 with a walk. And, yes, he was retired all four times on strikeouts.

While teammates Paul Konerko (3-for-5, 3 RBI). Alexei Ramirez (3-for-4, 2 RBI), Brent Lillibridge (2-for-3, 2-run homer), A.J. Pierzynski (3-for-5) and Alex Rios (2-run homer) were feted by the crowd of 25,519, Dunn deservedly was showered with boos.

“That's the worst I've seen him since we've had him,” Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

It has been less than two months since Dunn has been in a White Sox uniform, but that is saying something. A frustrated Dunn has twice said he “stinks” this season, so give him some points for being honest.

Now batting .190, Dunn headed into Saturday's game with 53 strikeouts, the second-highest total in the majors behind the Detroit Tigers' Austin Jackson (56).

It didn't take him long to move into the lead.

Even worse, Dunn is 0-for-30 (with 13 strikeouts) against left-handed pitchers.

Guillen continues to be as patient as possible with his $56 million (alleged) slugger, and he even ran Dunn out for a rare appearance at first base Saturday hoping to take his mind off sitting for such long stretches as designated hitter.

“(Being the DH) can be an excuse for struggling; it's not an easy thing to do,” Guillen said. “Especially when you do it for the first time.”

Before signing a four-year contract with the Sox on Dec. 3, Dunn spent 10 seasons in the National League with the Reds, Diamondbacks and Nationals.

Dunn twice led the NL in strikeouts, and the White Sox knew what they were getting. But striking out 57 times in 142 at-bats is alarming, even for a max swinger like Dunn.

At this pace, Dunn is going to strike out 231 times. His career high is 199, established last season with Washington.

Guillen said Dunn is going to be back at first base Sunday as the Sox look to win the three-game series from the Dodgers. But when they hit the road Monday and face left-handers Derek Holland and C.J. Wilson at Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday, look for Dunn to take a seat.

“We all know he's struggling,” Guillen said. “He will get his at-bats and we'll see what happens. I might get him a break on the road just to mentally relax him, physically. I don't worry about him. We all know he's going to strike out a lot, but in the meanwhile we have to be patient.

“This guy, every time he comes to the plate, we've got a lot of faith in him. He can make a lot of things happen. So far it's not happening, but we expect good things to happen with him.”

Konerko agrees.

“I think he'll catch a streak, I'm guessing, at some point where it's just going to be … a guy like that can make up a lot of ground quickly with the damage he can do when it all lines up right,” Konerko said.

“As far as teammates and all that, we've all been there and you just support your teammates. He's been awesome. He's handled it way better, as good as any guy I've been around. Just everything, a new team, situations, that whole thing. He's been great and everybody really respects him for that.”

sgregor@dailyherald.com