White Sox trounce Wells and Padres

PEORIA, Ariz. – Padres manager Bud Black called it “arena baseball.”\nThe Chicago White Sox roughed up David Wells in his third start of spring training and beat San Diego 14-7 on Sunday in a game that featured 34 hits.\nThe 43-year-old Wells gave up seven runs and 10 hits in three innings but said he wasn’t concerned. He retired his first two batters before his outing went downhill.\n“It was a geezer day,” Wells said with a smile. “I’ve probably done worse. I don’t think people should be concerned on a day like today as long as you can make your pitches. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was throwing 98 mph or 78 – they were destined to waffle them.”\nChicago’s Paul Konerko doubled high off the 30-foot batter’s eye in center field and later homered, and teammate Ryan Sweeney homered off Cla Meredith, who yielded five earned runs.\nSan Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez cleared the batter’s eye for a homer, and left fielder Russell Branyan had an opposite-field shot.\nPadres closer Trevor Hoffman even gave up a run in an inning of work.\n“It was a good day to hit,” Black said. “It was a difficult day to pitch, but they had their hitting shoes on.”\nWhite Sox reliever Gavin Floyd, who’s competing for the fifth spot in the rotation with John Danks, had his pitching shoes on. Floyd limited the Padres to one run in 4 1/3 innings in relief of Danks, who allowed six runs in 3 2-3 innings.\nChicago manager Ozzie Guillen said the team isn’t ready to make a decision on the final spot in the rotation. He said Charlie Haeger is also still in the mix.\n“One day we like one and one day we like another,” Guillen said. “Everybody knows Gavin has a good arm and he can be real effective.”\nWells was effective until he yielded four straight two-out hits in the first, including doubles by Konerko and Joe Crede. The burly left-hander allowed three more hits to start the second before Konerko hit a two-run homer to left.\nBut Wells wasn’t concerned with the results after pitching in the warm, dry desert air. He said he’s on pace to be ready for the start of the season, and that’s his biggest goal.\n“The ball just flies,” Wells said. “The lower the ball, the higher it went. It’s almost like golfing in Colorado. You hit a wedge 300 yards.”