John Danks lost his fourth consecutive decision Wednesday, but manager Ozzie Guillen hasn’t lost confidence in his rookie left-hander.
“He has something a lot of veterans don’t have,” Guillen said after Danks was beaten 3-2 by the Mariners. “When he gets hit, he comes back right away and isn’t afraid to pitch to anyone. If he continues to do that and we change our luck and [start to] hit, we’ll be better.
“This kid has been hit before and he never shows emotion or loses composure. Every game he gets better and better. We just can’t get it going offensively.”
The Sox scored two runs for him. But there was no margin for error, and Yuniesky Betancourt’s two-out home run in the seventh cost him the game.
“I wish I had an answer for that,” Danks (0-4) said of the six home runs he has allowed. “I’d change it in a heartbeat. I pitched to contact. I’m not trying to walk anyone. I’m going to throw strikes.”
At one point, Danks retired 13 consecutive batters before Jose Vidro’s two-out single and Raul Ibanez’s double tied the game 2-2 in the sixth.
Injury update
Designated hitter Jim Thome probably will embark on a short minor-league rehabilitation assignment once he recovers from a right rib cage strain.
Guillen said he would rather see Thome go to the minors to get more live work rather than work with the team before returning.
Thome is eligible to come off the DL on May 13.
Guillen isn’t expecting leadoff batter Scott Podsednik to return from a right adductor strain until June.
Catcher Toby Hall will resume throwing Thursday on the team’s scheduled day off in Anaheim.
Extra innings
Paul Konerko’s homer was the 474th extra-base hit of his Sox career, tying him with Nellie Fox and Minnie Minoso for fourth place in franchise history behind Frank Thomas (906), Luke Appling (587) and Harold Baines (585). … Despite suffering his first loss Tuesday, Class A Winston-Salem’s Justin Cassel remains tied for the Carolina League lead in victories with four. He has a 2.03 ERA. … Double-A Birmingham left-hander Gio Gonzalez leads the Southern League with 43 strikeouts and four victories.
