Danks, Sox plunder Pirates once again

Posted June 16, 2010 11:00 pm

PITTSBURGH - Yes, Pedro Alvarez, this really is the majors. Even if nothing surrounding the rebuilding-again Pittsburgh Pirates these days looks like a major-league product.

White Sox starter John Danks held down Alvarez and the Pirates by limiting them to 4 hits over 8 innings and Pittsburgh committed 6 errors during the Sox' 7-2 victory Wednesday night.

The Pirates ran their losing streak to 10 in the major league debut of Alvarez, their top power prospect since Barry Bonds. Alvarez contributed one of the Pirates' four ninth-inning errors, mishandling a throw at third base.

The White Sox, meanwhile, looked sharp again while winning their sixth in seven games. Danks was in control throughout and Carlos Quentin drove in 2 runs with a single and double. Paul Konerko had 3 hits and drove in a run.

Before the road trip began, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams stressed the importance of winning both interleague series this week, against NL tailenders Pittsburgh and Washington. The White Sox are assured of taking the three-game Pirates series after winning the first two games.

"I think we were bound to have a good run at some point," Konerko said. "We were bad for a long time to start this season and now we're starting to put some runners on consistently. And the pitching is starting to smooth out."

Alvarez, the No. 2 pick in the June 2008 draft, impressed the White Sox by hitting several long home runs during batting practice, causing several players to interrupt their pregame stretch and let out some audible "o-o-o-hs" during one deep drive. Once the game started, Danks (6-5) kept Alvarez in the park, much to manager Ozzie Guillen's relief.

"That's a lot of pressure to put on this kid like he's the savior," Guillen said. "I think when you see this kid, the first 3 at-bats he got were good at-bats. That's all you can ask."

Danks struck Alvarez swinging on a high fastball in the second, then worked carefully before walking him in the fifth. Alvarez then scored on Lastings Milledge's double. The left-handed hitting Alvarez got around on a pitch by the left-handed Danks in the seventh, driving it to the warning track in left before Juan Pierre ran it down.

So far, Pittsburgh hasn't caught Alvarezmania the way Washington is embracing rookie Stephen Strasburg, who faces the White Sox on Friday. The crowd of 15,218 was only slightly larger than Tuesday night's turnout of 12,693, despite gorgeous weather and a day's worth of buildup.

Danks wasn't as dominant as he was in limiting Detroit to 1 hit in 7 shutout innings during a 3-0 victory on June 10, but was in control throughout while striking out six and walking two. Danks has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in 10 of 13 starts.

"This is the way we envisioned ourselves pitching all year," Danks said. "Who knows? Hopefully, this is the roll that gets us back on track."

As usual, one bad inning did in Pirates starter Zach Duke (3-8), who has lost four in a row while winning only once in 12 starts. The first five White Sox batters reached base in the fourth, with Alexei Ramirez tripling after Pierre's leadoff single. Alex Rios and Quentin followed with run-scoring singles.

Jake Peavy will miss his scheduled start Thursday due to shoulder soreness, with Mark Buehrle replacing him in the White Sox rotation.

The White Sox are 6-2 in interleague play, while the Pirates are 0-5. Against the NL, the White Sox are 30-14 since 2008.

White Sox game tracker

White Sox 7, Pirates 2

Heating up: The White Sox won their sixth in seven tries as Carlos Quentin drove in 2 runs.

Danks again: John Danks allowed 4 hits in 8 innings as he improved to 6-5 with a 3.18 ERA.

Plummeting Pirates: The debut of power-hitting rookie third baseman Pedro Alvarez didn't help Pittsburgh much. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and committed one of the Pirates' 4 errors in the ninth inning. Pittsburgh has lost 10 straight.