Santiago hurts his case to stick
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The White Sox have a decision to make about whom to send down when John Danks returns from his minor-league rehab stint soon. Left-hander Hector Santiago didn’t make it any clearer for them Saturday.
If Santiago had the inside track on right-hander Dylan Axelrod, he might have given it away in the Sox’ 12-9 loss.
Santiago couldn’t hold a 4-0 lead against the struggling Angels and didn’t finish the fourth inning after walking four and giving up four hits. He was charged with three runs.
“That doesn’t even go through my mind at all,’’ said Santiago, who gave up six runs in his previous start at Minnesota. “I just didn’t get it done today.’’
Santiago never found a good rhythm and said he tried to nibble, then worried about his pitch count climbing.
Mixed bag
Danks was not razor sharp in his fourth rehab start for Class AAA Charlotte, throwing 51 of his 95 pitches for strikes, lasting 4⅔ innings and walking four. He gave up two hits, hit two batters in the first inning and struck out five. His ERA for Charlotte is 3.45.
Danks could return by Friday to face the Miami Marlins, but a decision hasn’t been announced.
Veal rocked
The Sox recalled Donnie Veal from Charlotte, adding a needed left-hander to their bullpen, and put him back to work in the seventh. Veal’s return couldn’t have gone much worse.
Called on to relieve Nate Jones after he allowed two walks and a single, Veal served up a home run to Alberto Callaspo. He retired one of six batters he faced.
Veal, who made the Opening Day roster, made four scoreless relief appearances for Charlotte after posting a 4.26 ERA with the Sox. He seemed to have straightened out the command issues that plagued him here.
Veal, who held left-handed hitters to a .094 average (3-for-32) for the Sox in 2012, vowed to come back better when he was shipped to Charlotte. In the minors, he struck out 10 and walked two without allowing a run in 8⅓ innings.
Hits and misses
The Sox’ 17 hits were a season high, a parade led by backup catcher Hector Gimenez, who hit three singles in a row before connecting on a three-run homer to cut the Angels’ lead to one run in the eighth. Gimenez also committed two passed balls.
Paul Konerko raised his average to .231 with a 3-for-5 day, and shortstop Alexei Ramirez also was 3-for-5. Alex Rios extended his hitting streak to 13 games by going 2-for-4 with a two-run double.
Leadoff man Dewayne Wise and Conor Gillaspie were 0-for-5, leaving a combined 11 runners on base. Second baseman Tyler Green was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts and stranded five runners.
This and that
Gordon Beckham started his rehab stint Saturday night, and Rule 5 infielder Angel Sanchez played the fourth game on his.
Nate Jones, who was 8-0 in relief last season, fell to 0-4.