Adam Dunn’s second consecutive night on the bench will give Alexei Ramirez a chance to hit out of the designated hitter spot for the first time this season.

Dunn was not only benched as the Kansas City Royals went with a left-handed starter for the second consecutive night, manager Ozzie Guillen is now saying that Dunn is dealing with a sore knee. Guillen did not know what knee was ailing his struggling slugger.

The news would seem to indicate the White Sox might try to angle for a disabled list stint with Dunn, which could open the door to recall Dayan Viciedo from Triple-A Charlotte. Guillen, though, told reporters in Kansas City on Wednesday that he intends on using Dunn in Friday’s series opener at Cleveland. The club has a day of Thursday.

Dunn has just seven hits in his last 79 at-bats, an .089 batting average over that 22-game stretch with 40 strikeouts. He also has just two hits in 64 at-bats against left-handed pitching, which equates to a .031 batting average in those situations.

The White Sox’s complete lineup Wednesday against Royals lefty Bruce Chen: Juan Pierre LF, Ramirez DH, Paul Konerko 1B, Carlos Quentin RF, A.J. Pierzynski C, Alex Rios CF, Omar Vizquel SS, Gordon Beckham 2B, Brent Morel 3B.

Left-hander John Danks is starting for the White Sox in his first outing since going on the disabled list in late June with a mild right oblique strain.