Fields hits 2 HRs in return to lineup
Buried deep on the White Sox' bench, Josh Fields can do little but wait for a chance to play.
The opportunity came Wednesday night, when Fields played first base in place of Paul Konerko, who served as the Sox' designated hitter.
Fields ended an 0-for-16 slide with a single in the second inning. In the fourth, he put the White Sox in front 5-3 with a 2-run homer that chased Dodgers starter Randy Wolf.
Fields added another home run in the fifth inning.
"It feels good to know that you're going to get at least 3 at-bats," said Fields, who last started on June 12 at Milwaukee. "You can kind of relax a little bit and not put so much pressure on one single at-bat. That will be nice.
"I think my confidence is still there. I've got a lot of work in since I've been sitting on the bench. I get to hit pretty much most of the game, so I made some adjustments with my swing and stuff like that."
Fields has looked fairly comfortable playing first base, a position he never played before this season.
Konerko was giving Fields some pointers during batting practice Wednesday.
"He laughs at me more than anything," Fields said. "No, he does give me advice. I'm using his glove that he uses in the game and everything.
"There's not much really he can say other than, 'Hey, good luck' and stuff like that. If you've played the infield, you can kind of adjust over there."
Thome sits again: When the White Sox played eight straight interleague road games before returning home to face the Dodgers on Tuesday, DH Jim Thome had to settle for pinch-hitting duties.
Thome was back in the lineup in the series opener against Los Angeles but was 0-for-4. The veteran slugger is hitless in his last 10 at-bats.
With left-hander Randy Wolf on the mound, manager Ozzie Guillen decided to use Paul Konerko at DH and sit Thome.
"He's not swinging the bat well right now," Guillen said. "It's not easy when you don't play that much then all of the sudden you play. Your body's going to be sore."
Round 2: After splitting a rain-shortened two-game interleague series at Wrigley Field last week, the White Sox play three more against the Cubs this weekend at U.S. Cellular Field.
"It's always fun," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I'm glad it's at this house. I love the competition; I love the fans being excited. I love the fans hating me when we lose, and I love the fans loving me when we win.
"I love it. I do. If you're not going to make the playoffs, that's the best thing you're going to remember after the season, the six games we play against them."