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CHICAGO -- The lone bright spot on an otherwise tough day for the White Sox was a Paul Konerko drive that inched him up a pair of home-run lists.

Konerko’s two-run home run in the third inning off Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price was the 426th of his career, tying him with Billy Williams for 45th on the all-time list. He is also just 29 home runs behind Frank Thomas on the White Sox’s all-time list.

In typical Konerko fashion, he was less worried about his place in history and more concerned about the game that had just been played and the next one in front of him.

“It’s cool, I guess,” Konerko said about matching Williams. “I don’t think too much about it. Right now, I’m one of those guys trying to find a feel. I feel good in one at-bat and the other at-bat it might go away.”

Against Price, Konerko is now 10-for-20 (.500) lifetime with two home runs and six RBIs. The long ball also ended his 65 at-bat homerless streak at U.S. Cellular Field. His last one came Sept. 25 of last season against the Cleveland Indians.

“Facing some good pitching, you just have to strap it on,” Konerko said. “So I’m not thinking too much about [home-run lists] because I know the guy on the mound doesn’t give a [expletive]. So I can’t, either, and I wouldn’t either way. They’re trying to get me out. As long as that’s happening, I have to be focused in.”

CHICAGO -- While the bullpen strains under the weight it is being asked to carry and the defense continues to provide more assistance to the opposing offense, the Chicago White Sox continue to drift aimlessly.

Another loss by a reliever was combined with two more White Sox errors that led to an 8-3 defeat by the Tampa Bay Rays and a 3-5 homestand that followed a 3-7 road trip.

Making it that much worse is that the White Sox need to step up their game in the wake of so many April injuries, not regress in areas that were a supposed strength.

The bullpen is still top-notch, but a lack of run support has left it pitching in tight games each and every night, and things haven’t always gone the Sox's way in such circumstances. Nate Jones was tagged with the loss Sunday, the bullpen’s sixth loss this season. Only the Toronto Blue Jays and their eight bullpen defeats have more in the American League.

“We’re looking at what you have here and what’s available, and you go from there,” manager Robin Ventura said. “You try to win games right now not waiting and looking in the future. Guys are playing hard and this is one of those that is probably a work in progress of trying to figure that out and who’s playing and who’s doing what. But again, you try to make due and make sure everybody is giving a constant effort. That’s all you can ask.”

Ultimately, it all goes back to that ineffective offense. Adam Dunn, whose struggles have been mighty in the early going, continued to show signs of life with a first-inning RBI single. Team leader Paul Konerko added a two-run home run.

Everybody else, though, was an easy target for Rays starter David Price, who snapped a streak of five starts without a victory. His last truimph came Sept. 30 of last season, against the White Sox.

The White Sox have already used the disabled list six times in the first 24 games, an extreme worst-case scenario for a club that lacks not only roster depth but in potential breakthrough prospects at the minor league level.

Tyler Green (second base), Conor Gillaspie (third base) and Dewayne Wise (center field) all filled in for injured players Sunday and were a combined 1-for-10.

“I don’t sense anybody looking around saying we can’t win with what we have,” Konerko said. “I think the only time you think about those guys is when you see them. I think every team is going to have that little span during the season where it seems like every day somebody’s going down. Hopefully, this is ours right now and we start getting guys back and we’re kind of over that and it’s done with and some other team’s going to have to deal with that in August or September, maybe.”

CHICAGO -- The little-used Chicago White Sox bench stirred the pot Friday, raising the energy and carrying the team to its first three-game win streak of the season.

Hector Gimenez, Tyler Greene and Conor Gillaspie were insurance policies that paid big dividends Friday, with each hitting a home to rally the White Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

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CHICAGO -- You can see a different hitter evolving in the batter’s box these days, as Adam Dunn is slowly starting to make more consistent contact.

Slumps are nothing new for the Chicago White Sox slugger, but so far this season he wasn’t even getting his usual walk numbers.

A recent slump doesn’t support the hypothesis that Dunn is getting it together, (3-for-50 in his last 13 games before Friday), but nonetheless, he and his hitting coach Jeff Manto see a good streak coming. Dunn went 2-for-4 Friday with an RBI in the Sox’s 5-4 win over the Rays.

“He has been working on his base and his base has gotten better,” Manto said before Friday’s game. “We began to see some better at-bats from him in Toronto. He has taken those better at-bats through the homestand but doesn’t have raw numbers to prove it. We see it and we are taking small steps right now. If you watch him flying out to left and left center that is a good sign and he is doing that right now.”

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CHICAGO -- Mired in a horrendous slump of his own, Adam Dunn did not hold back when asked about his team’s poor record.

“We can’t play any worse than we are now,” Dunn said before the Chicago White Sox's Monday matchup against the Cleveland Indians. “Obviously we are getting good pitching. Other than that -- terrible.”

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CHICAGO -- Despite Sunday’s 5-3 defeat to the Minnesota Twins, two Chicago White Sox hitters in deep slumps showed signs of life.

Adam Dunn snapped a 31 at-bat hitless streak with a solo home run in the seventh inning, while Jeff Keppinger managed to drive in two runs while actually extending his hitless run to 24 consecutive at-bats.

Keppinger drove in the White Sox’ s first run with a fourth-inning ground out, and brought home the second run in the sixth inning on a fly ball to center field.

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CHICAGO -- Once the seas finally parted for Conor Gillaspie, the former first-round pick in the 2008 draft took complete advantage of the situation.

One of the White Sox’s modest under-the-radar pickups between the end of last season and the start of this one, Gillaspie has started to move himself into the spotlight with solid play both offensively and defensively.

When spring training started, though, Gillaspie had nowhere to go. As a member of the San Francisco Giants organization he spent brief stretches in the major leagues but had been blocked by regular Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

So the White Sox moved in not long after players started arriving into spring camps and plucked Gillaspie away from the Giants in exchange for pitcher Jeff Soptic, currently 2-0 at Single-A San Jose, but with a 7.36 ERA after eight appearances.

“I never really worried too much about it honestly,” said Gillaspie, who said that getting out from behind Sandoval’s shadow gave him a small sense of freedom. “It’s not really worth it. Life’s too short to worry about a bunch of things you don’t have control over. You just have to just enjoy it. Enjoy the rise.”

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CHICAGO -- Despite his struggles and the fact that the Chicago White Sox are facing a left-handed pitcher on Sunday, Adam Dunn is back in the lineup, batting from the fifth spot.

Dunn is in a 1-for-37 slide and went 0-for-4 on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins with three strikeouts.

The White Sox will be facing Twins left-hander Scott Diamond on Sunday and his relatively small sample size against Dunn could have contributed to manager Robin Ventura putting his struggling slugger back in the lineup. Dunn is 3-for-10 (.300) in his career against Diamond with a home run and three RBIs.

“You can think about anything, but for us to turn around and start playing better, he's going to have to get some hits and be part of that, part of the answer,” Ventura said when asked if he considered giving Dunn a rest Sunday.

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CHICAGO -- While the Chicago White Sox's Dayan Viciedo and Alex Rios have had to live with the label of “inconsistent” during their major league careers, both players delivered in Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

A walk-off home run by Viciedo in the 10th inning was set up by Rios’ game-tying blast in the seventh.

“I guess I am seeing the ball very well,” Rios said “ I try to take a good approach at the plate and see it.”

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CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox are not concerned with how it looks, only that the desired result is achieved.

If that sounds a lot like the “Winning Ugly" season of 1983, well that’s only fitting since the White Sox wore those old red, white and blue jerseys to honor the former American League West champs for the first of 13 home Sunday games this season.

It’s not lost on the current club that despite winning their first two home series, there are plenty of areas for improvement. The pessimist can call it unfulfilled potential. The optimists look at it as a good sign moving forward.

“I think we have a chance to be a pretty good ballclub, especially if we clean up some things,” catcher Tyler Flowers said. “I think the offense will get going a little more than it has and our pitching has been quality so far.”

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CHICAGO – With the White Sox heading into interleague play Tuesday at Washington against the Nationals, they have the perfect pitcher on the mound.

Jake Peavy not only has experience pitching in the National League from his days with the San Diego Padres, he appreciates being able to take his cuts at the plate. Pitchers come to the plate in interleague games at National League parks.

“I love that style of game in the National League,” Peavy said. “I love the pitcher being an integral part of the game -- you’re being an athlete and having a chance to impact the game. If you practice being better than the other guy, it’s one advantage you have over the other starting pitcher. That’s a big reason I felt I had one more advantage.”

Tuesday night will be a marquee matchup of sorts with Peavy facing former White Sox farmhand Gio Gonzalez. A Chris Sale-Stephen Strasburg matchup would have turned even more heads, but both pitchers won’t take the mound in the series.

“Hitting against Gio is another thing; Gio is an outstanding talent,” Peavy said. “We have our work cut out for us Tuesday night. It will be fun, first road trip of the year, guys excited to get out. We’re going to rent us a room Monday night and watch the (NCAA) national championship game. That will be good for the team, then get us some rest.”

As the debate continues as to whether both leagues should either have the designated hitter, or both should let the pitcher bat, manager Robin Ventura thinks it’s all wasted breath.

“I like that it's different; there's room for both,” Ventura said. “The DH has kept a lot of players that couldn't play defense that are good hitters still; they get to extend their careers. I think there's a part of the National League game, having played in the National League, that it's fun. It creates a different thing for bench players that wouldn't happen in the American League. They get a little more action in the National League than the American League, but I think there's room for both.”

Ventura’s strategy skills are sure to be tested with pinch-hitting decisions and double-switch possibilities.

“You watch the National League and you watch the double switches, you watch how many players on the bench get used as opposed to here, it's pretty black and white,” Peavy said. “Very rarely do we ever pinch hit. In the National League, there are a lot of moving parts every night and the managers can really impact a game with what moves they make and when.

“The game's a little bit different. I'm sure Robin will tell you the same thing, going into these National League parks. Double switching and all that stuff, you've really got to be on top of your game to manage in the National League, and I’m sure Robin will tell you that as well.”

After the three-game series against the Nationals this week, the White Sox won’t have another interleague series until May 7-8 when they travel to New York to face the Mets. They play the Cubs in back-to-back two-game series May 27-28 at U.S. Cellular Field and May 29-30 at Wrigley Field.

CHICAGO -- Paul Konerko calls Frank Thomas the greatest hitter in Chicago White Sox history, yet it’s the current first baseman who has more hits.

Konerko moved past Thomas on the White Sox’s all-time hit list Friday, collecting No. 2,137 on an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Modest despite his accomplishments, Konerko not only tried to deflect the attention that came with the mere mention of him in the same company as Thomas, he went out of his way to explain why Thomas is more accomplished.

“I think No. 1 is just being out there a lot and showing up to play,” Konerko said if his spot on the club’s hit list. “I'm proud of that. But some of that stuff can get skewed a little bit. I don't know what the at-bats are, I think I played longer here than he did maybe by a little bit now. He walked so much because guys were afraid of him, so he had less at-bats to actually swing the bat.

“So there are things you factor into it, but it's cool nonetheless, any time you get mentioned with a guy that's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer here soon.”

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CHICAGO -- The all-or-nothing Chicago White Sox, who hit five home runs over the first two games, are watching their strikeout totals rise quickly in the early going of the 2013 season.

In Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox went down on strikes 12 times, including four from Dayan Viciedo and three more from Adam Dunn.

They finished the opening three-game series with 29 strikeouts, still less than the 36 the Los Angeles Angels recorded in their opening series against the Cincinnati Reds and well under the whopping 43 the Houston Astros had in three games against the Texas Rangers.

While adding Tyler Flowers to a lineup that already had Viciedo and Dunn, strikeouts were a concern. It's why the White Sox brought aboard Jeff Keppinger, who is known for his ability to make contact.

With the White Sox facing the Royals' Jeremy Guthrie, Sox manager Robin Ventura wasn't going to make much of a 12-strikeout day.

"I think there was some good pitching today," he said. "That's the way it goes. There were good contact hitters that struck out also. Tip your hat and go get them tomorrow."

Despite the fact that Dunn led baseball with 222 strikeouts last season, the Sox's combined strikeout total of 1,203 was only 18th most among all 30 major league teams. The White Sox averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game last season compared to their 9.7 average over the first three games this season.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox's first defeat of the season Thursday exposed some more early-season oddities.

In the 3-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals that prevented a three-game sweep, it was the bottom of the order that did all it could to get the White Sox on track to manufacturing runs instead of the team just powering its way to tally marks on the scoreboard.

No. 8 hitter Tyler Flowers reached base four times with two walks, a single and a pitch that grazed his jersey, while No. 9 hitter Gordon Beckham had four singles to match a career best for hits in a game.

Alejandro De Aza managed to drive in Flowers on one occasion with a single, but the early struggles at the top of the order continued and the White Sox were held in check by Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie and three relievers.

"It's odd you get that at the bottom of the order and you don't get much out of it," manager Robin Ventura said. "It's the pitching. Those (Royals pitchers) find a way to get out of it and that's the way it goes."

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CHICAGO -- The sideshow currently developing for the upcoming Chicago White Sox season could be a power challenge between Tyler Flowers and Adam Dunn.

Flowers hit his second home run in two games Wednesday in a 5-2 victory over the Royals, while Dunn crushed his first of the year, blistering a line drive 431 feet into the seats in right-center field.

The concern with two similar hitters in the same lineup was the possibility they could stall rallies with high strikeout totals. That worry could still show itself, but for now, the duo has combined for three home runs and four strikeouts in two games.

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