Pierre, Beckham try to find their grooves

With another 2-for-4 on Wednesday, former White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik is putting on a clinic for the Kansas City Royals through the early part of the season, hitting .457 with six stolen bases in the No. 2 spot.

The Sox' top of the order? Not so good.

Juan Pierre is hitting .176, while an RBI double from Gordon Beckham in the third inning at least gave the Sox' No. 2 hitter some much-needed life.

''I'm still searching a little bit,'' Beckham said of his slow start. ''I feel like I'm not 100 percent there. I'm getting some hits when I don't feel very good, and that's a positive. I'm not worried about it, but I just hope to get that swing back soon.

''The last few days, it's been about really concentrating on seeing the ball. That's the struggle right now.''

Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said Pierre is trying to do too much.

''I'm not going to point fingers at Juan,'' Guillen said. ''It's still early, and he's trying to do too much, put pressure on himself. He's done it in the past, and he should go out and play the game the way he knows how to play.''

HOLD ON, HUDSON

Guillen disagreed with the assessment of Minnesota Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson that racism is keeping Jermaine Dye and Gary Sheffield off rosters.

''I don't know if Hudson wasn't talking about himself, like, 'Look, I'm a free agent every year and no one wants to sign me,''' Guillen said. ''There's a lot of non-African-American players without a job, and that's because of the economy. I know J.D. was offered a contract, and he didn't want it. That's not Major League Baseball's fault.''

Guillen said Dye is a good friend and one of only three players whose number he keeps in his cell phone, along with Carlos Zambrano and Alex Cora.

DAY OF REST

Paul Konerko was the latest regular to get a day off, with Guillen giving Mark Kotsay the start at first base and Carlos Quentin the designated-hitter spot. Alexei Ramirez also was rested.

Comment at suntimes.com.

TONIGHT'S GAME 6:07, CSN, 670-AM

White Sox (4-5) at Blue Jays (6-3)

Freddy Garcia

0-1, 2.57 ERA

'09 vs. Jays:

Did not face

Career vs. Jays:

6-4, 5.50 (13 GS)

Blue Jays vs. Garcia

Jose Molina: 8-for-20, .400

Vernon Wells: 5-for-14, .357, 3 RBI

John Buck: 7-for-22, .318, 2 HR

Lyle Overbay, Jeremy Reed: 4-for-9

John McDonald: 1-for-6

Jose Bautista: 1-for-3

Dana Eveland

1-0, 0.00 ERA

'09 vs. Sox:

Did not face

Career vs. Sox:

0-1, 5.79 (1 GS)

White Sox vs. Eveland

Carlos Quentin: 1-for-1, HR, 3 RBI

Andruw Jones: 1-for-1, RBI

Alexei Ramirez: 1-for-2, 2B

Mark Teahen: 1-for-5

Juan Pierre: 1-for-3

Alex Rios: 0-for-6

Photo: Dana Eveland Photo: Freddy Garcia Photo: With two hits Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Sox leadoff man Juan Pierre boosted his average to .176.