Timely hitting helps White Sox to victory

Before Adam Dunn and his teammates delivered some much-welcomed timely hitting Thursday, the White Sox slugger expressed his sense of urgency. "It has to turn," Dunn said before his two-run single knocked out C.J. Wilson in the fourth inning of a 6-1 victory over the Angels. "This offense is too good to be pounding out 10, 12 hits or whatever and only scoring a couple of runs." For one of the few times this season, the Sox pulled away in a victory that created a pleasant problem for manager Robin Ventura entering this weekend’s series without a DH against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Dayan Viciedo, whom Dunn is to replace in left field, hit his third home run in his last four games and is 8-for-16 during that span. "It makes you think about it," Ventura said of the possibility of changing his plans to start Dunn in left and sit Viciedo. "But Adam is hitting in the third spot. You have a weapon (with Viciedo on the bench) you can use at some point in the game." Ventura seemed reluctant to move Viciedo from left to either right field or third base, but Viciedo seems prepared for any scenario this weekend. "That’s the team’s decision," said Viciedo, who began his career as a third baseman and played right last year. "I’m just going to continue to do my thing. "Wherever they want to put me, I just want to play. I’ll be fine." The Sox capitalized on Wilson’s career-high six walks as A.J. Pierzynski singled in a run in the third and Dunn drove in two with a single in the fourth after striking out in his first two at-bats. "I’m as guilty as anyone," Dunn said of the Sox’s lack of clutch hitting this season. "You have to look at it as they’re in trouble, not you. They’re the ones who put runners in scoring position, not you. You’re up there doing what you do. A lot of times you’re thinking, ’I have to get this run in,’ "When you start doing that, you start swinging at bad pitches, you start pressing." Pierzynski rewarded Ventura for starting him against a left-hander following a night game with a 3-for-5 performance that helped the Sox split the two-game trip to Southern California before returning to Chicago. "It’s nice to win a getaway game, especially with a long flight and the crazy trip we have," Pierzynski said. "But the biggest thing is the Cubs’ series is a little bit special and a little bit crazy, no matter what. "So I’m looking forward to going there. Hopefully it’s uneventful for me and we can play three good games." Said Dunn: "I can’t speak for everyone, but I know it will be almost like a playoff atmosphere. The place will be rocking and it’s going to be fun. I enjoy those types of games."