Sox, 15-3 vs. NL, now return to league play

Even though they lost to the Cubs on Sunday, the White Sox pushed themselves away from the interleague table with a full belly.

They feasted on National League teams with 15 wins in 18 tries, and they are back in contention thanks to their solid play against the Marlins (2-1), Cubs (4-2), Pirates (3-0), Nationals (3-0) and Braves (3-0).

Now that they resume American League on Monday night at Kansas City, are the Sox going to regress back to their shoddy play of April and May?

"I don't think it really matters," Gordon Beckham said. "I hope it doesn't matter. I don't feel like it should. We got on a roll against the National League and we'll try to carry it over."

Manager Ozzie Guillen has always said the AL is better than the NL.

"I say that and everybody tells me I'm crazy," Guillen said. "The American League is harder. But it's going to be harder because when you're in the pennant race, every game is a must game. That's it. It's not going to come easy."

Interleague play seemed to come easy for the White Sox, but the AL as a whole was only 132-118 vs. the NL this season (not counting two games Sunday night to close out the interleague schedule).

Jenks update: Family always comes first with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, and that's part of the reason why Bobby Jenks missed the three-game series against the Cubs and might be absent for part or all of the upcoming series at Kansas City.

Jenks left U.S. Cellular Field before Friday's game against the Cubs when his wife fell ill, and the Sox on Sunday placed their closer on the Major League Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List.

To replace Jenks, the Sox purchased the contract of left-handed reliever Erick Threets from Class AAA Charlotte.

"It's not a big deal, but I told him make sure he takes care of his family and his wife," Guillen said. "Make sure everything's fine back home. I don't think it's more than a couple of days. If everything goes well, it should be three or four days."

Matt Thornton pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Cubs on Saturday night and earned his third save of the season.

"We have guys that have closed games," Guillen said. "J.J. (Putz) did it before, (Tony) Pena closed a game for us before, and Thornton is one of the best pitchers in the game out of the bullpen.

"I don't worry about that. But there's no doubt, when Bobby is here our bullpen is a lot better because everything fits in a better spot. In the meanwhile, we know it's family first."

Sleepy Threets: Erick Threets didn't get the call to join the White Sox until late Saturday, and by the time he got his gear packed up and headed to the airport for an early flight from Charlotte to Chicago on Sunday morning, the time for sleep had passed.

Still, the 28-year-old lefty was feeling pretty peppy after arriving at U.S. Cellular Field.

"To come up here with this team doing big things, it's exciting to be considered for that spot," Threets said. "If I get called on, I'll do my job like I've been doing. You can't really think too much into it. I just wish the best for Bobby. At the same time, I'm here to do my best."

Threets, who pitched in 10 games for San Francisco in 2007-08, was slowed by a sore biceps earlier this season with Charlotte. He was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in 14 games.

Sox broadcaster dies: Lorn Brown, who served as play-by-play announcer on White Sox TV and radio broadcasts from 1976-79 and 1983-88, passed away Thursday in Las Cruces, N.M. He was 71.

Brown served in the dual role of TV/radio announcer with the Sox from 1976-79 and worked solely in the radio booth from 1983-88.