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A quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 7-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night at Target Field.

How it happened: The White Sox battled back to tie the Twins at five in the eighth, but Ryan Doumit's double to deep center off White Sox reliever Ramon Troncoso brought home Clete Thomas and Joe Mauer with the winning runs for Minnesota. The Twins struck four times in the first off White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod. Leadoff hitter Thomas reached on an error on Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham and Mauer’s two-run home run brought him home. After Josh Willingham singled and Justin Morneau doubled, Trevor Plouffe's single to center scored both. The Sox got two runs back in the second on Conor Gillaspie's homer. Paul Konerko, who doubled earlier in the inning, scored on the drive. The Sox scored again in the fifth when Beckham singled, Tyler Flowers doubled and Alejandro De Aza brought home Beckham on a fielder’s choice. The Twins tacked on another in the sixth as Pedro Florimon's single to right drove home Brian Dozier. Axelrod exited after the sixth, having allowed five runs on 10 hits. The White Sox scored another in the seventh on a Flowers’ sacrifice fly and tied the Twins in the eighth on Konerko's RBI single, after Alex Rios led off the inning with a walk and stole second.

What it means: The Sox fell farther behind the Twins in the bottom of the AL Central. The Sox are in last place and 2 1/2 games behind fourth-place Minnesota.

Outside the box: The White Sox are an AL-worst 13-25 on the road.

Up next: Chris Sale (5-5, 2.43 ERA) will take the mound for the Sox on Wednesday against the Twins’ Kevin Correia (5-4, 3.97). Game time is 7:10 CT.

ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine takes your Cubs and White Sox questions during a live chat at noon CT Tuesday. Click here to submit your questions.

A quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 4-2 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night at Minute Maid Park.

How it happened: The White Sox bats came alive in the sixth with a four-run inning off Astros starter Bud Norris. Dayan Viciedo had the big blow, tripling to deep center to bring in Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Conor Gillaspie. Konerko had reached with an RBI single to score Alejandro De Aza. Jason Castro got the Astros out to an early lead with RBI doubles in the first and third innings. White Sox starter Jose Quintana lasted just 4 2/3 innings, throwing 104 pitches. He allowed two runs on five hits and walked three. The Sox bullpen held the Astros scoreless the rest of the way.

What it means: The White Sox ended their four-game losing streak and avoided a four-game sweep by the Astros.

Outside the box: Jesse Crain tied J.J. Putz's team record with his 27th consecutive scoreless outing.

Up next: The White Sox head to Minnesota to begin a three-game series with the Twins. Game time is 7:10 CT.

Here’s a quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday at Minute Maid Park.

How it happened: Alejandro De Aza hit a two-run homer off Houston closer Jose Veras in the ninth, but the Sox came up short. The Astros jumped out to a quick lead in the second inning when Matt Dominguez smacked a bases-loaded double to left, scoring Chris Carter, Carlos Pena and Trevor Crowe. Carter had singled, but Pena and Crowe both reached on walks from Sox starter Hector Santiago. The Sox scored on a sacrifice fly from Alexei Ramirez in the sixth and an RBI single from Jeff Keppinger in the seventh. But the Astros answered in their half of the seventh, scoring two more on Jason Castro’s homer off Sox reliever Matt Thornton.

What it means: The White Sox dropped their fourth straight and have lost 12 of their last 13 on the road. They fell 10 games under .500. They need a win in Monday’s finale to avoid a four-game sweep.

Outside the box: Sunday’s loss was the first time anyone on the Sox roster had faced Houston starter Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel went 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits.

Up next: The White Sox close out their series in Houston on Monday, sending Dylan Axelrod (3-4, 4.26 ERA) to the mound against Bud Norris (5-6, 3.47) in a 7:10 CT start.

Here's a quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday:

How it happened: Trying to win his second straight start, John Danks gave up four earned runs in six innings, striking out five and allowing five hits. Tied 1-1 in the fourth inning, the Astros' Jason Castro and Chris Carter each homered off Danks. A Clint Barmes RBI double in the fifth gave the Astros a 4-1 lead. Adam Dunn hit his 18th home run in the seventh inning. Former Sox prospect Lucas Harrell was strong against his old team, allowing three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings and striking out seven.

What it means: The Sox have now dropped two straight to the lowly Astros, who managed to beat Chris Sale on Friday despite Sale's 14-strikeout performance.

What's next: Hector Santiago (2-4, 3.12 ERA) and the White Sox continue the series at 1:10 p.m. CT Sunday against Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel (3-3, 4.37).

A quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros Friday night at Minute Maid Park.

How it happened: Chris Sale pitched all eight innings, allowing two runs (none earned) on five hits and striking out 14, but the White Sox offense didn’t support him. Adam Dunn drove in the Sox’s only run of the game with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly to bring home Paul Konerko. Konerko had two of the Sox’s six hits on the night. The Astros scored both of their runs in the fifth inning. Ronny Cedeno reached on an error by Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez to start the inning and Ramirez’ second error of the inning four batters later, with two outs, allowed Cedeno to score. Jose Altuve’s infield single to third brought home Trevor Crowe with the winning run for Houston.

What it means: The White Sox offense’s struggles returned Friday, managing just three hits in six innings against Astros starter Erik Bedard. Sale is now 0-3 since missing time because of mild tendinitis in his left shoulder.

Outside the box score: It was the second straight time Sale went eight innings without allowing an earned run to the Astros. Sale yielded four hits over eight shutout innings in a 10-1 win last June 9, his only previous career appearance against the Astros.

Up next: The White Sox send John Danks (1-2, 4.13 ERA) to the mound Saturday against the Astros’ Lucas Harrell (4-7, 4.52 ) in a 6:15 CT start.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams admitted that slugger Adam Dunn hasn't always been the player the White Sox thought they were getting three years ago, but he refuses to be a pessimist about it.

It was Williams, then the general manager, who signed Dunn to a four-year, $55 million deal before the start of the 2011 season.

While showing brief glimpses of his former prowess, Dunn's time with the White Sox has been met primarily with disappointment. He is currently trending upward at the plate with home runs in consecutive games and a four-hit game Monday.

"I still think that Adam can be one of the more dynamic players in the game," Williams said Friday. "I think this past week you've seen a little bit of that. It's tough coming into a new place with the expectations that you have. I'm glad to see that in this past week he's gotten back to focusing on being a good hitter. Not just a power guy but being a good hitter because when we signed him it wasn't just for the power."

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CHICAGO -- Exactly one month to the day that his fiancee's breast cancer and plans for a double mastectomy were revealed on live television, Chicago White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams expressed a crystallized focus.

Outside of his job in the White Sox's front office, his first priority is being the best caregiver as possible to Zoraida Sambolin, the CNN anchor, whom Williams became engaged to this past Christmas Eve. Sambolin, who Williams affectionately calls "Z," underwent her double mastectomy three weeks ago and is in the early stages of her recovery.

In the last four weeks-plus, Williams has noticed a void in the support system for women dealing with breast cancer and the oftentimes traumatic experience of a mastectomy.

"Quite frankly, there are some horror stories out there about guys not supporting their women in ways that you would expect," Williams said Friday. "I think when you have a loved one that gets sick, you have to walk the walk with them. You sign up for not just the good, but also when life throws you a little curve. I couldn't hit that curve when I was playing on the field, but I darn sure can hit the curves in life."

Williams said the "horror stories" include men who leave their partner after a mastectomy, or those that threaten to leave if their partner undergoes a mastectomy. For women already dealing with one traumatic experience, it adds another layer of hardship.

"I think that we need to educate our young men and women more on health in general, and not just the physical of what bad health means, but also the emotional side as well," Williams said. "There is the sensitivity that is needed to carry a person through a difficult time."

For a former baseball general manager who is now in an executive position with his club, Williams has faced challenges before, even those on a personal level when it comes to cancer, but he now feels he can help on a broader scale.

One photo of Williams that has been making the rounds on the internet is of him helping Sambolin to change the drains that help collect the discarded fluid from her surgery.

"I think any time you can show support in this way, you are in fact empowering somebody else that maybe was reluctant, or maybe a woman for instance that was afraid to ask for help from her partner," Williams said. "Maybe she might be more ready to accept that type of help knowing that yes, as men we are capable of being the nurturer, the caretaker. Women are so used to being in that role for us. Well, there are times that we have to play that role or be in that role for them."

It was on May 14 that Sambolin announced on CNN's "Early Start" that she had breast cancer and was preparing to undergo a mastectomy. She hadn't intended to make the announcement when she went to work that day, but when the discussion came around to Angelina Jolie's preventative double mastectomy, Sambolin became inspired to talk about her own story.

Williams and Sambolin had discussed whether or not an announcement would even be made, but when he rolled out of bed and flipped on the television that day, he knew that debate had ended. Like Williams with his assistance, Jolie has also played a small role in what Sambolin is going through.

"They have become pen pals as a result (of the on-air announcement)," Williams said of Sambolin and Jolie. "And Angelina, she will not have had a bigger more heartfelt hug than the one I will give her when I meet her, because she not only gave [Sambolin] the courage at the beginning, but she has given her an almost step-by-step advice along the way of what to expect next. It's her experience, whether it be from clothing to recovery to reconstruction."

Initially, Williams was reluctant to talk about Sambolin's recovery and the help he has been able to provide, but in the bigger picture he also knew that if one person is inspired to be a better caregiver to an ailing partner, then it was worth giving a peek inside to the couple's daily routine.

A few years before he became the White Sox's general manager in 2001, Williams' father underwent surgery for prostate cancer. Days like Father's Day, when players wear blue wristbands for prostate cancer awareness, and on Mother's Day, when players wear pink accents and swing pink bats, have taken on a whole new meaning for Williams.

“

I think that we need to educate our young men and women more on health in general, and not just the physical of what bad health means, but also the emotional side as well.

” -- Ken Williams

"With my father, I was told by the doctor before he went into surgery to not expect him to get it all, but fortunately it was in one centralized area and they were able to get it all," Williams said. "In 15 years, he hasn't had an issue, so that has taken on a greater meaning to me as well. It's an exam that men don't want to go through. But if you are truly calling yourself the head of the family, then you have a duty and a responsibility to monitor your health care in that way."

Williams has still managed to keep focused at the office. His new role gave him the opportunity to take an even more active part in amateur scouting before last week's draft, and he even put off discussing Sambolin's breast cancer and mastectomy recovery until after the draft was completed.

Now moving past the draft, Williams will play a key role in what the White Sox elect to do before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. And he will also continue to be an advocate for cancer screening and prevention.

"We are losing far too many mothers and far too many fathers to things that we don't have to lose them to," Williams said. "With just some due diligence and being proactive in their health care, particularly in [breast cancer and prostate cancer], families can be saved.

"If one person in the family dies from it, doesn't everyone die a little bit on the inside from it?"

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams has hundreds of reasons to extol the virtues of Paul Konerko, but he doesn't feel this is the proper time for it.

Asked what Konerko has meant to the organization, especially since his playing days in a White Sox uniform could be coming to an end, Williams wouldn't go there.

"It's not time to talk about that right now," Williams said. "We're trying to just win ballgames."

There are a number of possibilities for Konerko moving forward. He could still re-sign with the White Sox after this season, although that is not expected. The 37-year-old veteran could also sign with another team this offseason, or he could elect to call it an accomplished career with well over 400 home runs and a World Series title.

And there is also the chance that Konerko could waive his no-trade clause and elect to be traded to a contender if the White Sox want to start a rebuilding process.

Williams just ended a 12-year run as general manager when he took his executive VP post this winter. Of those 12 teams Williams put together as GM, Konerko was the only player to be on all of them.

Their bond is obviously tight and Williams' respect for Konerko runs deep, but he will wait before talking about it.

"If Paul starts talking about that, whenever that is, whether it's this year, next year, the year after, whenever that is, if he starts talking about that, that will be our cue to begin speaking about that as well, but we're not there," Williams said.

Back in early May, when the season was just getting ripe and the White Sox were in the very early stages of finding their new selves, stories surfaced about whether we were about to witness the decline of Paul Konerko.

Read the entire column.

CHICAGO -- If this is the price to pay for being brothers in the same clubhouse, the Danks boys are more than willing to pay it.

The teasing is coming toward Jordan and John Danks from all angles, which is essentially a compliment in the alpha male world of a major league clubhouse. Not everybody is able to put a hand on your shoulder and acknowledge a beautiful thing when they see it. They acknowledge it, though, in their own way.

"It's funny, when we're not next to each other everybody's like, 'How come y'all don't ever talk?'" Jordan Danks said. "But then when we're sitting together they'll say, ‘Ah, that's cute. Did you guys come to the field together today?' I don't know. We just can't please anybody. But it's been a lot of fun."

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CHICAGO -- Less than a week after selecting Tim Anderson in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Chicago White Sox signed the shortstop to a minor-league deal, complete with a $2.164-million bonus.

The 19-year-old sophomore out of East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss., will begin his professional career with Advanced Rookie League Bristol of the Appalachian League.

Anderson was named a first-team NJCAA Division II All-American after leading the nation with a .495 (91-for-184) batting average and 62 runs scored. He was second in the nation with 41 steals. He added a .563 on-base percentage and an .864 slugging percentage.

The Alabama native had signed a letter of intent with the University of Alabama Birmingham. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder is also a finalist for the NJCAA player of the year award.

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod was most affected by Wednesday's postponed game as he will now be moved out of the upcoming series at Houston against the Astros.

Axelrod, who struggled Monday night against the Toronto Blue Jays when he gave up six runs on eight hits over four innings, would have pitched Monday at Houston if the White Sox merely pushed back their rotation for a game.

Chris Sale was supposed to start Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the game was called off with the expectation of severe weather around game time and throughout the night.

Sale's next start will now be Friday at Houston in the opener of a four-game series. John Danks and Hector Santiago will be pushed back a day in the Astros series. Jose Quintana will now pitch Sunday at Houston, with Axelrod presumably getting pushed into Tuesday's series opener at Minnesota.

Despite his poor outing Monday, Axelrod has been a bright spot in the White Sox's rotation. He initially earned a starting spot out of spring training as a replacement for the injured Danks and has remained on the staff with the injury to Gavin Floyd.

Axelrod is 3-4 this season with a 4.26 ERA in 13 starts. His 74 innings already have surpassed what he previously pitched in the major leagues over the last two seasons in 18 appearances.

The most Axelrod has ever pitched in a season were the 169 1/3 innings he amassed over three different levels during the 2011 season.

CHICAGO -- The game-tying home run the Chicago White Sox gave up in the ninth got the most attention. But a plethora of other miscues ended up being the biggest problem Tuesday and is a major concern moving forward.

The White Sox have struggled all season to put together a solid brand of baseball, and in Tuesday’s 7-5 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays in 10 innings all of their issues surfaced.

There was poor base running, untidy defense and shaky play that might have been brushed aside if Addison Reed had been able to put a ninth-inning slider where he wanted. Instead, Reed’s 1-2 pitch with two outs was up in the strike zone and crushed for a towering homer by the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista.

The White Sox went on to the lose the game when reliever Ramon Troncoso gave up one run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch and another when catcher Tyler Flowers couldn’t handle a throw to the plate to make a tag.

“It’s my job to get those three outs and I didn’t do it,” Reed said. “Offense, pitching did everything to get the ball in my hands in the situation we wanted it. We had the lead and I came in and left with it tied, so I feel it’s all on me, and I’ll take full responsibility for it.”

It was a noble gesture to fall on the sword, but there were plenty of others responsible for what happened.

Alexei Ramirez, Conor Gillaspie and Flowers all made errors. Flowers had a second-inning passed ball that allowed a run to score. There was Troncoso’s wild pitch that Flowers couldn’t corral with a backhand.

There also were baserunning issues galore, including those by Ramirez (doubled off second base on a line drive); and Gordon Beckham (last out of the inning at third base); and Alejandro De Aza (picked off first base); and Dayan Viciedo (thrown out trying to advance on a ball that got away from the catcher).

“It was one of those where we kept shooting ourselves in the foot, running the bases,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “Any time you lose like that, it doesn’t feel good. You come down and you get the last strike, especially the way it went earlier, it’s one of those for [Reed]. He’s human and it’s going to happen.

“You figure it’s going to happen eventually, but you just never like it when it happens. He should have had a bigger cushion than that. That’s the way it goes.”

The White Sox were poised to break things open in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. But Paul Konerko struck out and Dunn lined into a double play, with Ramirez well off the bat at second.

After that a lively White Sox offense began to slumber as Blue Jays pitchers retired 14 of the next 15 batters.

“It’s been worse than that,” Ventura said of all the mistakes. “You do that and you still have a chance to win the game. We’ll address it and come back [Wednesday].”

The White Sox were so close to their second four-game winning streak of the season. Now they’ll try to start a new streak a day after one of the sloppiest games of the season.

“I think it’s just a matter of winning a few games in a row and not letting this one get us down,” said Matt Thornton, who used an eighth-inning double play to get himself out of a pitching jam. “Get a win (Wednesday), go into the off day and go on the road and play well there.”

“We’re going to lose games the rest of the way,” he said. “But it’s a matter of stringing a bunch of wins together in between those losses.”

CHICAGO -- One strike from victory, the Chicago White Sox ended up falling 7-5 in 10 innings on Tuesday to the Toronto Blue Jays at U.S Cellular Field.

How it happened: The Blue Jays’ Rajai Davis scored the game-winning run on a Ramon Troncoso wild pitch in the 10th inning. Up 5-4 in the ninth inning with two outs, Addison Reed blew a save chance for the second time when he gave up a game-tying home run to Jose Bautista on a hanging slider. Conor Gillaspie hit a three-run home run to highlight a four-run fourth inning for the White Sox. The Blue Jays closed the gap in the fifth inning on a two-run home run from Edwin Encarnacion. Adam Dunn hit a home run in the second inning, his third in two games and fourth in his last four games.

What it means: The White Sox have dealt with sloppy play and poor fundamentals all season and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. They made no less than nine head-scratching plays Tuesday, highlighted by the wild pitch from Troncoso that catcher Tyler Flowers tried to stop with a backhand. In all, the White Sox made three errors, had one passed ball that allowed a run to score, gave up the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and had four runners thrown out on the bases.

Outside the box: The home runs from Dunn and Gillaspie gave the White Sox two or more home runs in four consecutive games. In their previous 19 contests before Saturday they didn’t have any multi-homer games. They entered the game with 60 home runs, 13th in the 15-team American League. Dunn has 17 home runs and is on pace for 44, while Gillaspie hit his fourth.

Off beat: The opportunity was there for Paul Konerko to get the best of his manager Robin Ventura. Tied for the White Sox’s all-time lead with 10 grand slams each, Konerko came to the plate in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. He ended up striking out on four pitches and the White Sox didn’t score in the inning when Dunn lined into a double play. It proved costly when the Blue Jays were able to tie the game in the ninth inning.

Up next: The White Sox will send left-hander Chris Sale (5-4, 2.68 ERA) to the mound Wednesday against Toronto in the series finale and the finale of the seven-game homestand. The Blue Jays will counter with right-hander Esmil Rogers (1-2, 3.60) in the 7:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.