Major League Baseball

White Sox 11, Athletics 5

Published Mar. 17, 2013 5:45 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie has made a good impression this spring.

Gillaspie doubled in two runs against Jarrod Parker and singled in the White Sox's 11-5 win over the Oakland A's on Saturday.

The 37th overall pick in the 2008 draft by the San Francisco Giants, Gillaspie made a rapid rise to the majors but stalled, hitting .205 with a home run and four RBIs in 29 games in the majors. He caught a break when the Sox traded for him on Feb. 22.

The White Sox wanted a left-handed bat to shore up their depth at third base, where Jeff Keppinger is considered the starter. He has missed time this spring because of a sore shoulder and a recent two-day absence for personal reasons.

The White Sox like what they see in Gillaspie so far. He's batting .313 and has a good chance of making the 25-man roster.

''He's got a pretty simple game as far as tough at-bats, he's no-nonsense, comes to play every day,'' White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. ''You don't see him as a guy who needs a lot of maintenance. He does a lot of things well, too. That's a good combination to have.''

A day after getting a spring-high 15 hits, the Sox had 17 more, roughing up Oakland starter Jarrod Parker for nine.

Backup catcher Hector Gimenez, who is batting .500, drove in three runs with a single and a triple, and outfielder Dewayne Wise also had two hits. Jordan Danks, a long shot to make the Sox as a bench player had a single, double and two RBIs a day after hitting a home run and driving in five runs.

White Sox ace Chris Sale had his worst outing of the spring, giving up five runs and seven hits in five innings, which didn't prevent Ventura from confirming that Sale will start opening day against the Kansas City Royals on April 1.

A's cleanup man Josh Donaldson, who entered the game batting .111, hit his first homer of the spring that actually counted - he had two taken away in a rained out game against Seattle on March 8.

''At times last year he was trying to do too much, trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark, which is something that he probably continually fights with a little bit,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''But when he was successful last year, he knows he was hitting the ball all over the ballpark. We're not worried about him. We like his approach.''

Sale, and Ventura, were not overly worried about the pitcher's outing.

''Just erratic control, kind of all over the zone,'' Sale said.

NOTES: The A's Josh Reddick hit a three-run homer against Jered Weaver in a 13-13 split-squad tie with the Angels in Phoenix. Yoenis Cespedes and Luke Montz also homered against Weaver. ... White Sox's catcher Tyler Flowers was out of the lineup for a second consecutive day because of lower back stiffness. Flowers is expected to be in the White Sox lineup for their game against the Royals on Sunday. ... Zach Stewart will start against the Royals on Sunday with No. 3 or 4 starter Jose Quintana avoiding the AL Central opponent to pitch in a B game. Hector Santiago and Jesse Crain, who is recovering from a groin strain, will also pitch in the B game. ... Sox OF Alex Rios, playing for Puerto Rico in the WBC, got stepped on in a collision with Angel Pagan but is fine.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball