CLEVELAND -- Robin Ventura sounds optimistic about James Shields’ next start, which comes Saturday night against the Cleveland Indians on CSN.

The White Sox manager said the veteran starting pitcher’s side work between starts has him better positioned for success. Shields has allowed 14 runs (13 earned) in his first two starts with the White Sox. The team elected to keep him on regular rest and pitch Saturday while moving Carlos Rodon back to Sunday to give him an extra day.

“It feels better,” Ventura said of Shields. “We’ll know more when he goes out there, but it feels good. He and Coop have been out there working on some stuff, and they feel good about it. “And that’s good news for me, too.”

Though Shields allowed seven runs against Detroit on Monday, he felt like he improved as the game went on. He allowed an unearned run in the third inning and put up two zeroes before exiting after five frames.

Ventura said the White Sox also place Rodon in between Shields and Miguel Gonzalez to break up the two right-handed pitchers. But the main point is to continue to manage the workload of Rodon, a practice the White Sox often put in place with their young pitchers. Rodon is 2-6 with a 4.28 ERA in 12 starts this season.

“You know you’re going to try to give Carlos a little extra time here and there,” Ventura said. “That’s part of what we did the last time, and then we give him another day here, we have a chance to do that.”