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Bullpen falters again as Sox lose tough one

Even when Bobby Jenks was blowing big leads and physically breaking down, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen steadfastly stood in his closer's corner.

Now you know why.

Having Jenks at the back of the bullpen allowed J.J. Putz, Matt Thornton, Sergio Santos and Tony Pena to perform in more defined roles and catch breathers from time to time.

With Jenks still unavailable after leaving Thursday night's game against the Twins with back spasms and likely headed to the disabled list, the rest of the Sox' relief corps has been asked to pick up the slack.

Putz failed to close out a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning Saturday night.

On Sunday afternoon, Santos, Putz and Pena were really burned, allowing 8 runs (7 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks in 22/3 innings during an ugly 13-8 loss to the Detroit Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field.

While falling 3 games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central, the Sox went 2-4 on their homestand and the bullpen allowed 16 earned runs in 182/3 innings.

"To me, a very bad homestand," said manager Ozzie Guillen, who sounded as angry as he often was before the Sox started turning their season around in early June.

"Terrible. Very bad pitching. When we pitched well, we're not hitting. A very poor homestand. We've got to prepare better for the next road trip and play better, there's no doubt.

"Those games coming up, they're very important. We've got to go up there (Minnesota) and perform better. If we want to win this thing, we've got to play better."

The Sox get a much-needed break in the schedule Monday and open a three-game series at Target Field on Tuesday night. By then, maybe Putz, Matt Thornton, Santos and the rest of the relievers will be rested and ready to go again.

Guillen said the energy was missing from the White Sox on Sunday, and that was true early.

But after Detroit jumped out to a 5-1 lead against starter Freddy Garcia, the Sox roared back and took a 7-5 lead on Paul Konerko's 2-run homer in the sixth inning.

"We battled back, which was nice," Konerko said. "We just couldn't hold them. They were swinging the bats well and it was just one of those days where it was almost, but it was just another loss.

"We just have to regroup on this off-day tomorrow and come out ready to play on Tuesday. It's still a long way to go."

Putz came on in the eighth inning with the White Sox leading 7-6, but he allowed 3 runs on 2 hits. Only 2 of the runs were earned, thanks to center fielder Andruw Jones' error on a Brandon Inge flyball.

"It's tough," Jones said. "I ran a long way for that ball. If it gets to my glove, it has to be caught. Those things happen. There's nothing you can do. Just go back and try not to miss it next time."

Jones made up for the muff by leading off the bottom of the eighth inning with a home run, but the Tigers answered with 4 runs off Pena in the ninth.

"The guys that make the mistakes, they know what they need to do to bounce back and get back where they need to be," Jones said. "No doubt in our mind we trust all those guys. We just have to shake it off, take a day off and come back and start playing better on the road trip."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen reacts as he watches his team during the ninth inning Sunday. Associated Press

<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p>

<p class="News"><b>Another dud:</b> J.J. Putz struggled for the second straight game, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits and 2 walks in the eighth inning. Putz has blown saves in two straight games for the first time since 2008.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Error of his ways:</b> Center fielder Andruw Jones couldn't track down Johnny Damon's 2-run triple that put the Tigers ahead 8-7 in the eighth. And the 10-time Gold Glover followed up by dropping a flyball off the bat of Detroit's next hitter, Brandon Inge.</p>

<p class="News"><b>By the numbers:</b> The Sox lost back-to-back home series for the first time since early June, and it was just their seventh loss of the season when leading after 7 innings. They also are 3 games out of first place for the first time since June 23.</p>

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