Suggestions for Sox to keep it interesting

Believe it or not, the White Sox are smack in the middle of a pennant race.

You can tell just by the way manager Ozzie Guillen has been playing “Match Game” with his bullpen lately.

The latest examples were bringing in Will Ohman for one batter Wednesday after letting closer Sergio Santos get a one-out save the night before.

Yes, the Sox (57-59) lost to the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 in 10 innings Wednesday night in another failed attempt to reach the .500 mark, but they remain a manageable 4 games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

After seeing their season-best five-game losing streak come to an end, the White Sox need a few tweaks to keep it interesting down the stretch.

Here are some suggestions:

ŸAdam Dunn was on the bench Sunday and Tuesday when Minnesota and Baltimore went with left-handed starting pitchers.

That’s sound strategy, considering Dunn is 3-for-78 against lefties this season.

But the time has come to sit him down for as long as the Sox have a shot to win the AL Central.

Facing an unimpressive right-hander Wednesday, Tommy Hunter, Dunn was 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts. He also went down swinging against right-handed reliever Jim Johnson and is batting .163 overall.

I think we can all agree Dunn is a good guy, but he has been killing this team all year and it’s not like he’s going to suddenly find it.

Yes, Dunn recently admitted he needs to get in better shape and actually hit in the off-season. He’s not stupid; what did you think he was going to say?

The Sox can wait until rosters expand in September to bring up Dayan Viciedo from Class AAA Charlotte, but why not make the call now?

The disabled list always is available to clear a roster spot, and maybe it’s finally time for Dunn to come down with an ailment. How does mental anguish sound?

Viciedo, but the way, went 0-for-3 Tuesday night, dropping his average to .297.

True, he’s not going to step in and save the White Sox, but Viciedo would be an instant upgrade over Dunn at designated hitter.

ŸPhil Humber had another rough outing in the loss Wednesday, allowing 4 runs on 11 hits in 6 innings. Let’s just say he was lucky the Orioles were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Humber was a great story in the first half of the season, but he has looked spent while going 0-4 with an ERA over 8.00 in his last 5 starts.

One option is moving Humber to the bullpen and seeing if newcomer Zach Stewart can build off Saturday’s impressive start at Minnesota.

ŸAs for Brent Morel, broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson has been indirectly chiding Guillen for not letting the third baseman play every day.

The Hawk is likely to get his wish — Morel had an RBI double Wednesday and continued to play standout defense. He has played his way into full-time duty.

sgregor@dailyherald.com