Danks overcomes rugged first inning against Padres

TUCSON, Ariz. -- It was probably John Danks' best start of the spring, and his worst.

In the first inning, Danks walked two batters and allowed 3 earned runs off 2 well-hit doubles to the San Diego Padres.

"I was pretty terrible that first inning," said Danks, who was tagged with his first loss of the spring. "It wasn't so much my stuff. I came in after the first inning and said, 'I have better stuff than to give up 3 runs in the first inning.' It was just a case of getting ahead of guys then letting them off the hook."

But after the first, Danks was spot on. He went on to cruise the rest of the game and string together 5½ innings -- the longest stint for a White Sox starter this spring -- and strike out seven Padres.

From the second inning through the sixth, when he was pulled with one out, Danks didn't walk a hitter and allowed just 2 hits, including a solo home run to Paul Anulty in the sixth.

"I wasn't too excited, too happy about the outing in the first inning," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "He turned around and he pitched well. He was attacking the strike zone better."

Finding a spot for Ramirez: Ozzie Guillen didn't seem as interested in the future development of Alexei Ramirez as he is in the immediate impact the 26-year-old prospect from Cuba could have on the team.

"I don't care about getting him at-bats or not, I care about getting him to help us win games this year," Guillen said. "And if we think this guy can help us win games this year, then we don't care about next year."

Ramirez, who is hitting .342 and slugging .541 this spring with 9 RBI, was inserted late in Tuesday's game at shortstop and went 0-for-1.

Crede watch: Joe Crede, the subject of trade speculation all spring, was 2-for-4 Tuesday against the Padres, a sign he may be ready to break out of his Cactus League slump and create tougher decisions for the White Sox about how to handle the third-base position.

"Sometimes you have to make tough decisions," Ozzie Guillen said. "And if Crede stays here, he has to play. He can not play another position."

Crede and Josh Fields have been battling for the starting nod at third base. The thought was Crede would likely be dealt to make way for Fields, but with less than two weeks before the Sox break camp, both are still on the roster.

Padres 5, White Sox 0

White Sox' record: 9-12-1

At the plate: Jerry Owens and Joe Crede each went 2-for-4 at the plate. No White Sox player had an extra-base hit. Paul Konerko was 1-for-1 and drew 3 walks.

On the mound: Starter John Danks pitched 5½ innings and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits while striking out 7. Three of the 4 runs came in the first inning. Tomo Ohka pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief.

Next: Jose Contreras starts against the Colorado Rockies in Tucson.

-- Geoff Grammer