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White Sox fall to Orioles again

BY TONI April 17, 2012 10:30PM Chicago White Sox Vs Baltimore Orioles. White Sox starting pitcher No.50 John Danks.Tuesday evening at U.S. Cellular Field. I Scott Stewart/Sun-Times storyidforme: 29077263 tmspicid: 10521383 fileheaderid: 4835210 Article Extras Updated: April 18, 2012 6:11PM White Sox left-hander John Danks allowed four runs in a start last week against the Cleveland Indians and earned a victory. He yielded three Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles, and it wasn’t good enough.‘‘I had good enough stuff to win with two runs, but that’s baseball,’’ Danks said after a 3-2 loss to the Orioles, who were led again by the home-run heroics of leadoff man Nolan Reimold. ‘‘I feel I made good enough pitches, but two mistakes got hit pretty hard.’’They came in the sixth, when Robert Andino singled with one out before Reimold and J.J. Hardy hit back-to-back homers. It was Reimold who started the Sox’ undoing Monday, when he homered in the ninth against closer Hector Santiago to start an Orioles comeback that led to a 10-4 victory in 10 innings.Reimold’s homer was his fourth in as many days, a first for the Orioles since Luke Scott did it in May 2009.‘‘John battles and pitched well,’’ manager Robin Ventura said. ‘‘Just two [mistake] pitches. He gives you a chance to win. We had some guys on base [the Sox stranded nine, including leaving the bases loaded in the ninth]. When you battle like that, you’ll win more games than you lose.’’The loss was the third in a row for the Sox, and it came in front of only 11,267 fans. It was the smallest crowd at U.S. Cellular Field since April 13 of last season, when 16,523 attended a game against the Oakland Athletics.‘‘It’s cold, and the Blackhawks are playing,’’ Danks said. ‘‘I don’t blame people. We’ll have a long summer for people to come.’’All the scoring came in the sixth, with the Sox getting their two runs against Wei-Yin Chen on a double by A.J. Pierzynski that scored Brent Morel (single) and Paul Konerko (walk). Pierzynski reached third on a single by Alex Rios, but he was stranded there when Alexei Ramirez popped out and Rios was caught stealing.The Sox had a chance against closer Jim Johnson in the ninth when Rios led off with a walk, took second on Ramirez’s sacrifice and got to third when Dayan Viciedo reached on an error. But pinch hitter Kosuke Fukudome lined out to third baseman Wilson Betemit and, after Alejandro De Aza walked, Morel grounded to Betemit to end the game.‘‘It’s frustrating, but I like that kind of fight,’’ Ventura said. ‘‘When you battle like that at-bat after at-bat, you’ll win more games than you lose.’’Pierzynski stayed hot at the plate, driving in his 10th and 11th runs during a six-game hitting streak. But Konerko saw his 10-game hitting streak end, and the Sox saw their production with runners in scoring position fall to 9-for-40 (.225) on the homestand.‘‘The last couple of games we could have won, but the feeling is nothing like last year [when the Sox had a similar start],’’ Danks said. ‘‘This group is tough and good enough to bounce back. It’s a long season. We’ll be fine. This team won’t die.’’Danks pitched seven innings, the longest outing by a Sox starter this season. But the long ball remained a problem for the pitching staff, which has yielded six homers in the last two games and at least one in five consecutive games.

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