Manager Gene Lamont was not surprised when pinch hitter Ozzie Guillen delivered the two-RBI single that tied the score 5-5 in the eighth inning of Friday night’s 6-5 loss to the Angels.
“Ozzie gets in runs about as good as anybody we have,” Lamont said. “He was a good offensive player when I got here, and he’s improved.”
Guillen, primarily batting in the No. 9 hole, hit .279, .273, .280 and a career-high .288 in his last four full seasons. His RBI totals in those years were 58, 49, 50 and 39 (in strike-shortened 1994).
Going into Saturday’s game, Guillen was hitting .333 and had nine RBIs in 15 games. Craig Grebeck, who played shortstop and batted ninth when Guillen went home to Venezuela, also is hitting .333.
Good enough: Lamont maintains a positive attitude toward James Baldwin’s latest start. The 23-year-old rookie yielded eight hits, but the Sox led when he left after five innings Friday.
“When your No. 5 starter takes you into the sixth or seventh with a chance to win the game, that’s pretty good,” Lamont said. “Hopefully, he’ll settle in, but he has to get his curveball across the plate.”
Because of off-days, Baldwin will go nine days between starts. He’s slated to start next Sunday in Detroit.
Radinski rusty? Lamont feels the shortened spring training period hurt Scott Radinsky as much as any player on the team. Radinsky’s ERA jumped to 9.94 when he yielded three runs in one inning Friday.
More Top Picks Best Alarm Clocks For The Hearing Impaired
“We need to get him chances to pitch,” Lamont said. “He missed last season due to illness , so the short spring and lack of work really has hurt him.”