General manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen have preached patience when it comes to assessing the White Sox’s younger players this season.
Their resolve is starting to pay off, especially after what Gordon Beckham and Clayton Richard each accomplished Tuesday night.
Beckham helped lead an offense that handed Cleveland Indians ace Cliff Lee one of the shortest starts of his career. And Richard pitched six innings for the first time in a month to preserve the bullpen.
As a result, the Sox left Progressive Field with an 11-4 rain-shortened victory over the Indians.
The umpiring crew finally called it at 11 p.m. Eastern following a 57-minute rain delay with two outs in the top of the seventh, the third delay of the game.
But that came after the Sox tagged Lee for seven runs on 11 hits in three-plus innings. It was Lee’s shortest start since he lasted 2 2/3 innings in an 11-0 loss to the Sox on May 29, 2006.
The Sox also ended Lee’s 47-game streak of pitching at least five innings.
Rain was the only effective tool in slowing the Sox’s offense. The start of Tuesday night’s game was delayed by 32 minutes by rain, and another 30-minute delay ensued after the top of the fourth with the Sox leading 7-1.
Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner who pitched seven shutout innings against the Sox on May 13, was largely ineffective against a predominantly right-handed-hitting lineup.
Paul Konerko continued his mastery of Lee, ripping a two-run homer in a four-run first. Konerko is a lifetime .362 hitter with 16 RBIs in 47 at-bats against Lee.
Beckham, meanwhile, continued his ascent after starting his career 0-for-13. He capped the first-inning rally with an RBI single off Lee, and his single in the third preceded a two-run double by fellow rookie Chris Getz.
In the fifth, Beckham hit a solo home run off left-hander Mike Gosling, who entered the game after Lee allowed three consecutive singles to start the fourth.
Beckham was 6-for-6 with a walk before striking out to end the sixth. Nevertheless, he’s batting .383 with 13 RBIs in his last 15 games while raising his batting average to .267.
Jayson Nix, receiving a rare start in the leadoff spot and in left field in place of Scott Podsednik, hit two doubles off Lee.
Jermaine Dye was 3-for-4 with a double.
Richard, meanwhile, restored some of the Sox’s faith with his efficient pitching. Richard allowed one hit through the first four innings — a solo home run to Travis Hafner in the second. In the fifth, however, Richard allowed three runs in the fifth on Asdrubal Cabrera’s bases-clearing double.
Richard, with the luxury of a five-run lead, rebounded by retiring formidable Grady Sizemore on a grounder to second and retired the side in order in the sixth.
This was Richard’s longest outing since he pitched seven innings at Kansas City on May 29.
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Big number
6
Career home runs Paul Konerko has hit off Cliff Lee in 47 at-bats after his two-run blast in the first inning Tuesday night.
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mgonzales@tribune.com
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Mark Gonzales is blogging on the White Sox all season long at chicagotribune.com/hardball
