NewsBeckham making strides on defense
Chicago (34-37) vs. Los Angeles (47-25), 1:05 p.m. CT
By Jesse Temple / MLB.com
06/25/09 1:12 AM ET
CHICAGO -- Gordon Beckham came home Tuesday night with some takeout food, plopped down in front of his TV and, like he has so many times before, tuned in to watch a little SportsCenter before heading to bed. |
Only this time, he was on TV.
Beckham, the White Sox rookie third baseman, saw himself making a diving, over-the-shoulder catch during SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day segment. Beckham's sprawling grab ranked as the fifth-best play of the day and drew a chuckle from Beckham. "It's kind of funny," Beckham said. Yes, Beckham had been a part of a TV show highlight package before. But the fact that he was singled out for his defensive play during the show's signature segment illustrated just how far Beckham has come as the White Sox third baseman in just a few short weeks. Beckham was brought up to the big leagues on June 4 because he was tearing up the Minor Leagues offensively, hitting .299 at Double-A Birmingham and .464 at Triple-A Charlotte. As a third baseman, however, he was virtually untested. He had played just six games at third for Charlotte before being called up to man the hot corner for the White Sox. Beckham came up as a middle infielder, switching between shortstop and second base. But since those positions were filled on the White Sox team by Alexei Ramirez and Chris Getz, respectively, Beckham was placed at third instead. It has taken time for Beckham to adjust to third base. Wednesday night's game against the Dodgers marked just his 17th Major League contest at third. And the learning curve is steep. "You can't really follow the ball at all," Beckham said of the difference between third and shortstop. "You have to just look for a contact point and go from there. It's a lot different. A lot quicker." Still, Beckham said he was gaining confidence with each game played at third. While his offensive output has sputtered in the big leagues -- he is hitting .172 with one home run and eight RBIs -- his defense has only gotten better. Which brings us to the play that netted Beckham a No. 5 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10. With nobody out in the top of the eighth inning and a runner on second, Dodgers leadoff man Juan Pierre attempted to drop down a bunt but popped the ball high in the air down the third-base line. Beckham, who was playing in to prevent the speedy Pierre from easily reaching base, darted out to third with his back toward home plate. Beckham snared the ball right before it hit the ground and just in front of an oncoming Ramirez. "He probably could have caught it standing up, but I didn't hear anything from him, so I just dove and managed to catch it somehow," Beckham said. It wasn't Beckham's only clutch play in the field on Tuesday. In the ninth inning, he made a heads-up play with runners on second and third and one out to prevent a Dodgers run, throwing home to nail James Loney for the second out. And in the first inning, Beckham made a diving snare of a Russell Martin grounder, getting to his feet to throw Martin out for the final out of the inning. "That might be the best play I've made maybe since I've been over there," Beckham said. "I don't know if I make that play in the first couple days, first couple weeks. So, I think I'm learning a little bit." White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen agrees. "He's playing better third base than what I thought," Guillen said. "His work ethic is going to get him very far. He loves baseball. He's got a feel for the game. "Obviously, it's going to take a little time offensively, but defensively, I can play him right now at second base, shortstop. He will play without a problem. That's how good he is. I'm very pleased with the way he's playing third base." Pitching matchupCWS: LHP Clayton Richard (2-1, 4.03 ERA)
It was a short and uneven outing for Richard on Saturday in Cincinnati, as the left-hander was unable to get through five innings for his third time in eight starts this season. The southpaw gave up five runs on six hits over three innings, with just three of them being earned, while striking out four and walking one. Richard didn't help his cause with his second error in as many starts, starting a three-run Reds rally in the third. But the White Sox offense came to life and took Richard off the hook in a 10-8 victory during the third annual Civil Rights Game played at the Great American Ball Park. Richard has never faced the Dodgers. LAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (9-3, 2.83 ERA)
Billingsley took a three-run lead into the sixth inning against the Angels but couldn't protect it and was unable to become the first 10-game winner in the National League this year. He was done in by walks, issuing five of them, with three of those scoring. He made 112 pitches in six innings, but only 61 of them were strikes and the Angels would have scored more if not for big defensive plays in the first and second innings. Tidbits
The White Sox scored at least 10 runs for the seventh time this season on Wednesday but just the second time at home this year. ... Ramirez finished Wednesday's game 1-for-3 with a solo home run in the first inning. The home run marked his fourth in the past seven games. He had recorded five home runs in his first 61 games before this stretch. ... Paul Konerko extended his hitting streak to nine games. He is hitting .306 over that span (11-for-36). ... Dewayne Wise snapped a 0-for-32 streak by White Sox pinch-hitters with a sixth-inning single on Wednesday. ... Jermaine Dye moved past Carlos Lee for sole possession of eighth place on the White Sox all-time home run list with 153. ... On Thursday, the White Sox will honor the 1959 American League champion White Sox team, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the team's World Series against the Dodgers. Tickets
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• Friday: White Sox (Jose Contreras, 2-6, 5.23) vs. Cubs (Randy Wells, 1-3, 2.57), 3:05 p.m. CT
• Saturday: White Sox (Mark Buehrle, 7-2, 3.17) vs. Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 4-5, 3.83), 3:05 p.m. CT
• Sunday: White Sox (John Danks, 5-6, 4.43) vs. Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 4-2, 3.48), 1:05 p.m. CT
Jesse Temple is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
