The biggest changes Wednesday night came as no surprise to the most storied slugger in the White Sox’s lineup.
“I personally haven’t been swinging the bat well,” said Jim Thome, who was moved from third to fifth in the batting order. “Changing it up is part of baseball. That has been going on for a lot of years, and you try to get better. The bottom line is I really haven’t been doing anything. That’s what happens in the game.”
Only leadoff batter Orlando Cabrera, cleanup hitter Jermaine Dye and ninth-place hitter Juan Uribe returned to their spots for the second consecutive game, as manager Ozzie Guillen followed through on his vow to shake up the lineup to kick-start a stagnant offense.
The game was tied 1-1 after five innings.
The move did immediately produce favorable returns against Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher John Lackey, who was making his first start since missing the first 6 1/2 weeks because of a right biceps strain.
Cabrera led off the game with a grounder that spun away from Maicer Izturis for a hit. A.J. Pierzynski, making his first start in the second spot in his major-league career, poked an 0-2 pitch inside the left-field line for a single that moved Cabrera to third.
Carlos Quentin, whom Guillen has considered batting leadoff because of his .399 on-base percentage, instead batted third and produced an RBI single in front of left fielder Garret Anderson.
The rally quickly bogged down, as Jermaine Dye hit into a double play and Thome struck out on an off-speed pitch to end the inning.
But the early run helped Guillen toward accomplishing his task of relaxing a seasoned lineup that entered Wednesday night’s game with a .240 batting average, 31 solo home runs and an American League-low 11 stolen bases.
“I want to take advantage of the guys who are hitting well right now,” Guillen said of his 25th different lineup in 40 games. “That’s the main thing, and give the guys who don’t swing the bat a little bit right now some freedom. They’re pressing too much, so this lineup is going to be there, and I hope not for long.
“I want to go back to my regular lineup, go back to the way we started. I want those guys to come out and be what they’re supposed to be, and don’t try and do something they’re not supposed to do. They need to take it one at-bat at a time. I tried to stay with the same lineup as long as I could and it wasn’t working.”
Paul Konerko dropped one spot for the second consecutive game to sixth and delivered a leadoff single to start the second. The Sox employed the hit-and-run play with one out, but Nick Swisher — batting eighth for the first time with the Sox — flied to center.
Pierzynski, who leads the Sox with a .303 batting average, welcomed his promotion.
“If they want me to bunt, I’ll bunt,” Pierzynski said. “I’ll move them up. If they want to hit-and-run, that’s fine. It also opens up holes, so it’s good.”
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For Wednesday’s result, go to chicagotribune.com/sports
