A leadoff homer, and it was downhill from there as Sox lose 5-1

Posted May 03, 2009 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

Following his second straight shaky start, White Sox left-hander John Danks probably deserved to lose at Texas on Sunday night.

Razor sharp in his first three outings of the season, Danks lasted just 5⅓ innings against the Rangers and allowed 5 runs on 10 hits in a 5-1 loss.

"I don't think he pitched that bad," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters after the Sox dropped their second straight to Texas. "He pitched good enough to win, but we continued to struggle with the bats."

The White Sox really struggled in the fifth inning. Trailing 3-0, they loaded the bases with one out against Rangers starter Matt Harrison on consecutive singles by Alexei Ramirez, Brent Lillibridge and Jayson Nix, who made his first start for the Sox.

But Harrison got out of the jam, striking out Josh Fields and retiring Carlos Quentin on a flyball to right field.

"That was the game right there," Guillen said.

The White Sox played without Jermaine Dye, who was hit on the left hand in Saturday night's game, and Jim Thome, who got the night off against the left-handed Harrison.

If there was any good news, it was on Dye's injury.

The veteran outfielder had to come out of Saturday's game after being hit by a pitch from Texas reliever Luis Mendoza.

X-rays were negative, and Dye could be back in the lineup tonight or Tuesday at Kansas City.

"I think we got lucky," Guillen said.

"I don't care if he loses two games, I thought we were going to lose him for a year. When we walked off the field, my mind was blank about what are we going to do, who were we going to bring up, who were we going to trade?"

Scott Podsednik filled in for Dye in right field Sunday night, with Lillibridge moving over to center.

Reserves Corky Miller, Wilson Betemit and Nix were also in the lineup, so the offensive results were somewhat predictable.

To make matters even worse, Fields was also hit on the left hand by a Harrison pitch in the first inning.

The Sox' third baseman stayed in the game, but he didn't look comfortable and could be held out of the lineup against the Royals tonight.

Scot Gregor's game tracker Sunday's grade: D-. The Sox went with a makeshift lineup vs. Texas starter Matt Harrison, who came in with a 6.41 ERA. The left-hander almost made it look easy while pitching 5 scoreless innings. Up and down: In his first three starts of the season, John Danks pitched 19 innings and allowed 1 run. In his last two, Danks has pitched 9 innings and allowed 10 runs. Hands down: Jermaine Dye missed Sunday's game after being hit by a pitch on the left hand the night before. He should be good to go vs. Kansas City tonight. Josh Fields, also drilled on the left hand Sunday, was able to stay in the game. On tap: Paul Konerko has had a tough go vs. Zack Greinke, who starts for the Royals tonight. Konerko's hitting a career .128 (5-for-39) off Greinke with 11 strikeouts. White Sox scouting report White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium TV: Comcast SportsNet today; Comcast SportsNet Plus Tuesday Radio: WSCR 670-AM Pitching matchups: The Sox' Bartolo Colon (2-1) vs. Zack Greinke (5-0) today; Gavin Floyd (2-2) vs. Kyle Davies (2-1) Tuesday. Both games start at 7:10 p.m. At a glance: The White Sox will be looking for a little revenge after losing 2 of 3 to K.C. at home to open the season. They'll have their hands full against Greinke tonight. The budding star has allowed just 2 earned runs in 36 innings. Next: Detroit Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field, Wednesday-Thursday

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