Sox rookie Santiago shakes off blown save

Hector Santiago was standing upright in front of his locker before Tuesday’s game against the Orioles.

The night before, the White Sox’ rookie closer failed to hold a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning.

Santiago served up solo home runs to Nolan Reimold and Adam Jones as Baltimore rallied for the tie and went on to win 10-4 in 10 innings.

Afterward, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said he still has confidence in Santiago and the left-hander is going to keep getting save opportunities.

It helps that Santiago avoided going into the fetal position.

“Someone asked me today about (Monday’s) game,” Santiago said. “I said, ‘That happened yesterday.’ I felt bad about it, but you have to let it go. It’s something that happens, it’s part of the game. If you keep thinking about it, you’re not going to be ready the next time.”

Staying put:

Brent Morel came into Tuesday’s game with a .103 batting average, but he is sticking in the No. 2 spot for the foreseeable future.

Morel singled, stole second and scored in the sixth inning, but he also struck out swinging with Alejandro De Aza on third base as the tying run with two outs in the seventh.

In the ninth, Morel grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game.

“I still think he’s going to be able to be more of a contact hitter, hit line drives,” manager Robin Ventura said. “I believe in him doing that, so he’s going to stay there. He just needs to be a little more aggressive within the zone and things are going to turn around for him.”

Catching on:

Robin Ventura was a third baseman for 16 seasons, so he didn’t pay much attention to the intricacies of pitching.

As a rookie manager, Ventura is still trying to figure it out.

“I trust Coop (pitching coach Don Cooper),” Ventura said. “He’s done a great job. I listen a lot. I try to learn as much as I can, but a lot of it’s listening to him, the communication that’s going on with him and pitchers.”