Injured White Sox starter looking to pick up where he left off

The White Sox haven't had many bright spots since coming out of the all-star break, but Miguel Gonzalez is one of them.

Signed by the Sox to a one-year, $5.12 million contract in early April after being released by the Orioles, the 32-year-old starting pitcher gradually gained confidence and had a 3.31 ERA in 6 second-half starts before straining his groin in his last outing, at Kansas City on Aug. 11.

"It's tough to swallow, especially the way it was going," Gonzalez said Saturday.

Still a week away from being eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list, Gonzalez said he's "75-80 percent" healthy. The right-hander had the same injury with Baltimore last season.

"It's going to take about two weeks and then start playing a little bit more, think about baseball," Gonzalez said. "I feel much better now. I might get off the mound tomorrow, throw a couple fastballs, changeups, see how I feel. Just figure it out, nothing special."

In 19 games with the White Sox this season (18 starts), Gonzalez is 2-6 with a 4.05 ERA.

Burdi watch:

Right-handed pitcher Zack Burdi, a Downers Grove native and Sox draft pick (No. 26 overall) in June, continued to excel at Class AAA Charlotte Saturday night.

The right-hander pitched 2 scoreless innings and had 5 strikeouts against Buffalo.

In 4 relief appearances with Charlotte since being promoted from AA Birmingham, Burdi has pitched 7 scoreless innings and struck out 13.

Saladino sits:

With second baseman Brett Lawrie still on the disabled list with hamstring and quad injuries, infielder Tyler Saladino has been a regular in the Sox's starting lineup the past 30 days.

The daily grind caught up to Saladino, who missed his second straight game Saturday with a sore back.

With a day off coming Monday, Saladino is likely to sit until Tuesday, when the White Sox open a two-game interleague series at home against the Phillies.

"He can play, but it's just better that he gets a little time off," manager Robin Ventura said. "He's been playing pretty good, getting on base, getting a lot of things that for a while he wasn't doing. Right now, it's caught up to him."

Rehab watch:

Injured designated hitter/right fielder Avisail Garcia (sprained right knee) started a rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA Charlotte Saturday night.

Second baseman Brett Lawrie (strained left hamstring) is rehabbing with AA Birmingham. Catcher Alex Avila (strained right hamstring) has not played in a month and is close to going on another rehab assignment.