Danks, White Sox get burned by Tigers
John Danks is a near perfect reflection of the White Sox' imperfect season.
The veteran starting pitcher always seems to be in trouble and, more often than not, is unable to get out of it.
In his last outing, at Houston on May 31, Danks escaped one jam after another and became the first major-league pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout while allowing 10 or more hits since the Twins' Carlos Silva in 2004.
Danks was back on the mound against the Tigers Saturday night and played with fire again. This time, the White Sox' starter got burned.
"I felt good," Danks said after a 7-1 loss to Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field. "I felt like Geo (catcher Geovany Soto) and I were both doing a good job of navigating the lineup. For whatever reason the ball got up. They were able to put the bat on the ball and find some holes. It's just a lot of hits in one inning."
Danks pitched out of trouble in the first, third and fourth innings while clinging to a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Detroit got to the left-hander while scoring 5 runs on 7 hits. Miguel Cabrera's 2-run homer to straightaway center field started the Tigers' rally in the inning and Danks did not survive.
"He was battling," manager Robin Ventura said after Danks' record fell to 3-5. "He had four, he looked like he was doing pretty good, but it's always dangerous going through that part of the lineup. (Ian) Kinsler gets on and then Miggy with the big homer. It kind of unraveled.
"I thought he was getting the ball up. He would get ahead and just couldn't put them away."
Danks became a changeup pitcher after having shoulder surgery three years ago. When he's able to consistently keep the ball down in the strike zone, good things happen.
When he doesn't, Danks is vulnerable.
"I made a bad pitch to Miggy and he's the best hitter in the game. The ball just got up," he said after allowing 5 runs on 11 hits in 4⅔ innings. "They were able to flip it out there and keep the line moving."
The Sox took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Alexei Ramirez's RBI double, but starter David Price cruised from there as the Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Price went the distance, allowing 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 11. He also had some great defensive help from Jose Iglesias at shortstop and Kinsler at second base.
"We hit him very well in the beginning of the game, we just didn't get lucky," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "They played very good defense."
The White Sox are still positioned to win this series, and they are going to need to repeat that process multiple times if they plan on contending in the AL Central this season.
"Where we're at, we need to win series," Ventura said. "And eventually, you'll catch that streak where you get it. It's important to win a series and that's the focus right now. You lose this one, they outplayed you, and you come back tomorrow ready to go. I think with Jeff (Samardzija, Sunday's starter), that's the mindset. You come out and try to win this series and then you go from there."