Dunn has a little fun despite 15-0 shellacking

When he was a junior in high school, Adam Dunn said he once threw 188 pitches in a 10-inning game.

If his memory is accurate, Dunn's surprise relief appearance for the White Sox on Tuesday night was a relative breeze.

With the Sox getting pounded by the Rangers 15-0 in the ninth inning, Dunn moved from designated hitter to relief pitcher. Taking the mound for the first time in his 14-year career, Dunn allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk while throwing 22 pitches.

The sparse crowd that remained went wild when Dunn came on to pitch.

"That's the only reason why you put a position player in there, it's not to do anything other than make a bad situation as good as it can be," Dunn said. "You're getting your butt kicked 15-0, and the fans that are there and the guys that are there, everybody is waiting for it to be over. Then all of the sudden, that happens. It's just fun. I'm glad I got to do it."

Texas hitters said Dunn was throwing "power sinkers."

"I don't know what I threw," Dunn said. "I was just holding the ball and spinning it one way or the other."

Dunn's fastest pitch was clocked at 83 mph.

"I wasn't going out there trying to throw 100 miles an hour," he said. "That's what I told Robin (Ventura), 'I'm not going to go out there to see how hard I can throw.' I just wanted to throw strikes and more importantly try to break somebody's bat."

Garcia timetable:

After injuring his left shoulder diving for a sinking line drive at Colorado on April 9, White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia had surgery and was expected to miss the rest of the season.

But after making a quicker recovery than expected, Garcia is on a rehab assignment with Class AAA Charlotte, and he was 8-for-15 with a solo home run in his first four games.

Garcia was the designated hitter to begin his rehab stint, and he'll need at least a week playing the outfield before rejoining the Sox.

Look for Garcia to come off the disabled list later this month.

"It's possible," manager Robin Ventura said. "You look at what he's doing right now, where he's at, you don't want any setbacks. But if there are no setbacks, if he's available and ready to play, you'd like to have him."

Cooper update:

After missing 11 games with vertigo before returning Friday, pitching coach Don Cooper has had a relapse and won't be with the White Sox on their trip to Seattle and San Francisco.

"You would like to have him back," Robin Ventura said. "But if he's not here, you have to move on and try and win a game, and he's not feeling that good. I would feel bad forcing him in here the way he's feeling. You hope he gets better, and I think we're better off when he's here."