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White Sox looking for companion to long balls

Ventura says his club needs to find other ways to score besides homers

CHICAGO -- The White Sox offense produces home runs, numerous home runs, in fact.

Sending that piece of information into the public eye represents the same level of breaking news as saying it's often cold in Chicago during April. It's just accentuated now, because the White Sox didn't have a run scored aside from the long ball through their first two victories.

Manager Robin Ventura has no problems with his team consistently clearing the fence, after presiding over a team that hit 211 homers last season. But the 2012 squad also finished fourth in runs scored in the American League, pointing up the need to find other ways to cross the plate.

"You'd like to be a little more complete in scoring runs," Ventura said. "For the length of the season, you're going to need more than just home runs.

"In the summer it's going to be different, because the ball carries so much. To win a lot of games and to win the tough games, you're going to have to knock runs in besides the home runs. Home runs are nice, but you're going to have to string together some hits and get some runs other ways. I like the home runs, but I also like those tough runs to be scored, too."

Every hitter in the White Sox starting lineup has home run power, as Adam Dunn mentioned following Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Royals. For Dunn, who ranks fifth among active players with 407 career home runs after his Wednesday blast, the approach taken to the plate is more important than the results.

"You've got to see it and hit it. Wherever it goes, it's going to go," Dunn said. "You start trying to force things to the opposite field and you get yourself in bad habits. I think everybody has a really good approach going right now and hopefully it stays.

"If you have a plan and you go up there with a plan, if it works, nobody can say you went up there just to go up there. Throughout the course of the year, that's going to pay off."

Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Merk's Works, and follow him on Twitter @scottmerkin.
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