Bottom feeders give Sox a big lift

They’re already buried at the bottom of the batting order, the White Sox’ two young guys.

And there is really no place left to hide the 24-year-old infielders — Gordon Beckham and Brent Morel — unless you count Class AAA Charlotte.

It still might be a last-ditch option, but Morel in particular helped himself and he helped the Sox avoid yet another loss at U.S. Cellular Field on Tuesday night.

Trailing the Rangers 3-0 in the fifth inning and looking well on the way to their 11th home loss in the last 12 games, Morel came to the plate with two on and two out.

Considering his last home run came on Oct. 1 of last season, a span of 104 at-bats, Morel was not looking to clear the fence and tie the game.

But that’s exactly what the third baseman did, lifting a 1-2 fastball from Texas starter Matt Harrison out to left field to spark the Sox’ 4-3 win.

Talk about good timing.

“He needed and we needed that one, just to wake up,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I think we were very flat because we didn’t have good swings. After that home run, obviously, we came alive a little bit and things were different.”

It was more of the same for Beckham, who struck out swinging leading off the third inning and struck out with two runners on in the fifth.

That dropped the second baseman’s average to .214, but Beckham did manage a leadoff walk in the eighth and he came around to score the deciding run on reliever Cody Eppley’s wild pitch.

Before the game, Guillen was asked if 44-year-old veteran Omar Vizquel (.349) was going to start spelling Beckham at second base.

“I might do that,” Guillen said. “Well, if you’re talking about struggling, I might replace a few guys. A few guys are still struggling at the plate, (Alex) Rios still is struggling, Juan (Pierre) is struggling right now, Gordon is still struggling. You have to be patient and show a little confidence and a little hope for those guys.”

At least the patience was finally rewarded Tuesday, thanks to Morel’s big blast on a 1-2 pitch from Harrison.

“He threw me a little slider down and in and I was trying to stay on the ball,” Morel said. “Luckily, I got a fastball over the plate. Mistake pitch. I was fortunate to get that one.”

Sox starter John Danks is still winless on the season, but at least he wasn’t tagged with his seventh loss.

Danks struggled from the first inning on, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and 6 walks. After throwing 113 pitches in just 6⅔ innings, the left-hander was lucky to get a no-decision.

“This is a good win,” Danks said. “I did my best to stay out of the way there after the first few innings. Any win is a good win, but we feel like we’re starting to turn it around a little bit after the road trip. For us to win the way we did tonight, that’s big.”