White Sox shut out by Rangers

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Manager Ozzie Guillen wasn’t surprised by how well the White Sox performed on their 6-3 West Coast trip.

But he was surprised by how poorly they had played until then.

The biggest surprise, however, is how poorly they have fared in their home park.

The Sox returned Monday to U.S. Cellular Field and lost 4-0 to the Texas Rangers, falling to 5-12 at home. They were held to five hits, including only one extra-base hit.

Rangers starter Colby Lewis entered with a 4.57 ERA, but he breezed through the lineup for four innings, not giving up a hit until A.J. Pierzynski singled down the right-field line with one out in the fifth. Omar Vizquel followed with a two-out single before Gordon Beckham struck out to end the inning.

By then, the Rangers already had two runs against Sox starter Edwin Jackson, who threw 100 pitches in the first five innings. The deficit might have been worse had the Sox not escaped a fifth inning of successive one-out singles, a stolen base, intentional walk and wild pitch. Jackson escaped with a bases-loaded strikeout of Yorvit Torrealba and Chris Davis’ groundout.

But there was no escape in the sixth for Jackson. The Rangers added two runs on singles by Endy Chavez and Elvis Andrus, Jackson’s second wild pitch and Ian Kinsler’s single.

The Sox’s struggles seem mystifying for a team that historically has feasted at home. They have lost 10 of their last 11 games at the Cell.

Already no-hit this season by Twins starter Francisco Liriano on May 3, the Sox are hitting only .230 at home.

That’s the third-lowest average in the American League, with only Tampa Bay (.223) and Seattle (.229) lower.

On the road, where they have compiled a 12-13 record, the Sox are hitting .259.

Losing at home becomes an enhanced negative for any team because of the obvious effect on fans.

The Sox drew 23,048 on a ‘‘value-priced’’ night when most tickets were half their regular cost. But wild pitches, stolen bases and a losing ledger on the scoreboard drew angry jeers at times.

The hope continues to be that the winning road trip will get the Sox on track, at least to get back to the .500 mark from where they might recharge.

‘‘I expected since spring training to play good all year long,’’ Guillen said. ‘‘Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it early in the season. We just have to take it one day at a time, one series at a time.

‘‘Every time they take the field, they expect to win. We expect to play well. No matter what the results are going to be, just play hard enough and good enough to try to win the game.

‘‘I don’t get paid for .500. If I’m going to sit here and think about .500, I’m not doing my job. My job is not to get to .500. If we finish at .500, we’ll be in third place.

‘‘Like I told the guys, we played very good on the road. Don’t take it too high and don’t get too low. Just keep playing the way you are, give it your best shot every game, and good things are going to happen.’’