A lineup that appeared parked in the wrong space for two months is now getting speeding tickets. Manager Clint Hurdle was rewarded with his first, hasty pairing of Willy Taveras and Scott Podsednik at the top of the order. Taveras singled and stole second — his sixth base in the White Sox series — in the first inning. Podsednik drove him in with a single and scored easily on Matt Holliday’s groundball up the middle.
“That’s the advantage of having guys who can advance themselves,” Podsednik said. “We were able to get on and create havoc.”
Hawpe along.
Brad Hawpe has homered four times since returning from the disabled list June 6. Hawpe went 5-for-12 with two home runs against the White Sox.
No way Jose.
White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras lost consecutive starts for the first time this season.
Looking ahead
Today: Braves at Rockies, 6:05 p.m., FSN
A flickering became a glow. The light bulb finally came on for Ubaldo Jimenez (1-6, 4.93 ERA) on Wednesday as he matched zeroes with the Giants’ Tim Lincecum. Jimenez hasn’t won since April 4, a streak spanning 12 starts. That’s the bad news. The good news is his lone victory came against the Braves, and he’s finally commanding his fastball down in the strike zone. Jair Jurrjens (6-3, 3.77) would look great in a Tigers uniform about now given the struggles of Dontrelle Willis. The Braves landed Jurrjens in exchange for shortstop Edgar Renteria.
