Jason Bere was bad, but Royals starter Pat Rapp was worse.
The White Sox teed off on the 30-year-old right-hander Wednesday night in their 10-5 victory.
Wil Cordero smacked four hits and drove in three runs and Magglio Ordonez had a career-high four RBIs as the Sox snapped a two-game losing streak.
“That was good to see,” said Sox manager Jerry Manuel. “Wil’s a guy who can carry a club once he gets going.”
The Sox made plenty of mistakes but managed to compensate for them.
Bere lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks, but Carlos Castillo (2-4) followed that by pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Castillo gave way to Bill Simas, who blanked the Royals over the final two innings.
Although he struggled, Bere wasn’t thrilled to be taken out of the game. “I would have liked to stay in, and I would think (Manuel) would want me to have that attitude.”
Manuel said he did have sympathy for Bere, whose cause was hurt by shaky defense. With runners on second and third in the first, Jeff King hit a sharp grounder to third. Robin Ventura made a nice stop, but his throw home skipped in the dirt, allowing Johnny Damon to score.
In the third, shortstop Chris Snopek booted a grounder that could have gotten Bere off the hook.
“That was a double-play ball, and it should have been ruled an error,” Manuel said. “We have to be better defensively to compete.”
But the Sox’s bats made up for the gaffes. The Sox put the game away in the sixth when Ordonez ripped a shot back to the box that ricocheted off pitcher Hipolito Pichardo’s glove into center field. Two runners scored, giving the Sox a five-run cushion.
