TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Aaron Rowand’s road trip was going quite well until Brad Eldred’s homer put a damper on the day.
Rowand, a fan favorite when he played on Chicago’s South Side for the White Sox, made a surprise trip down from Phoenix with his new club on Saturday.
Things looked good for the San Francisco Giants’ split-squad until Eldred’s two-run shot in the eighth inning helped the White Sox rally for a 6-4 victory.
Boone Logan (1-1) earned the victory for the White Sox, who had dropped three straight.
The White Sox made a play to reacquire Rowand this winter after he filed for free agency from the Philadelphia Phillies, but Chicago wouldn’t offer the center fielder more than a four-year deal. When the Giants presented a five-year contract worth $60 million, the deal was done.
Rowand spent his first five major league seasons with the White Sox before being traded to Philadelphia for Jim Thome in November 2005.
“I understand the business side of things and they have constraints as far as what they can do,” Rowand said. “I would have liked for them to (add the fifth year), because God knows I would have liked to have gone back to Chicago. I mean I love the fans, love the city and the organization.
“It would have been a very comfortable situation.”
Rowand’s attention has now turned to the Giants, who might be in the market for his former teammate Joe Crede, the current third baseman for the White Sox.
Chicago hasn’t said if it will trade Crede this spring, but signs indicate a deal will be done. The Los Angeles Dodgers have become bidders for him, so White Sox general manager Kenny Williams can sit back and wait for the best offer.
“I’m just the middle man,” said Rowand, who went 0-for-2 Saturday. “I’m not playing recruiter. It’s not like I’m going to them and saying, ‘get him.’ They asked me, and obviously everyone knows what he can do on the baseball field. I told them, ‘You’re asking a guy that is biased, but I’ll give you my answer. God knows I want to play with Joe again.”
San Francisco (3-8) grabbed the lead in the eighth inning on Justin Leone’s RBI double. The Sox stormed back with three runs in the bottom half on Mike Rouse’s run-scoring single and Eldred’s homer.
John Danks started for the Sox, going four innings and allowing one run and three hits. His work was so effective that he threw 20 more pitches in the bullpen after his outing.
“It took me a couple of innings to get into a groove,” Danks said. “I wasn’t as sharp as I have been, but the results were still there.”
Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez gave up an unearned run and three hits in three innings of work.
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