HOUSTON (AP) -- A day off for Frank Thomas turned out to be trouble for the Houston Astros.

Paul Konerko, who was in a 1-for-26 slump and had been out four games with a sore left foot, took over for Thomas and got three hits Sunday to help the Chicago White Sox beat the Astros 7-3.

Konerko fouled a ball off his foot 10 days ago and had played little since then. Thomas, who was hitting .328, was given his first full day off this season.

"I got a bad bone bruise and it's really been painful," Konerko said. "I can swing a bat but it hampers me in the field. I want to play but I have limited range anyway and with a bad foot I don't want to go out and get a few hits and give up a few runs."

Playing in a National League park, Konerko couldn't DH, as he has six times this year. So he played first base and doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs.

"I was starting to feel better in the Yankees series last week," he said. "I was hoping I could keep that feeling going but it's tough to keep that kind of feeling when you sit out a week. I didn't know if I could maintain it.

"But even when I struck out my first time up today, I was on his (Octavio Dotel's) stuff. I felt good all day."

Manager Jerry Manuel was glad Konerko felt good.

"He had life in his bat," Manuel said. "He probably saw the ball better today and he had some tremendous swings. I think the breather helped him some. Tomorrow will be a tough decision."

It will be a near game-time decision again, as it was Sunday.

"I didn't find out I was going to play until about noon today," Konerko said. "So I didn't have time to talk myself into a bad game."

The Astros weren't surprised by Konerko's big day.

"He's a good hitter," manager Larry Dierker said. "We knew he was a good hitter. With him, it's just a matter of finding a place for him to play."

Ray Durham homered on the game's first pitch and Chris Singleton added a homer in the second inning to help the White Sox.

Dotel said he wasn't shaken by Durham's leadoff homer.

"He came to the plate ready to swing," Dotel said. "Those things happen. That happened to me in Montreal and I pitched seven good innings afterwards.

"I thought I could again today, but they came to swing the bats and they got me."

Richard Hidalgo hit his 18th home run and Daryle Ward also connected for the Astros. The White Sox won two of three in the interleague series.

Mike Sirotka (4-5) gave up three runs and five hits. He struck out six.

Dotel (1-4) lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs and eight hits. He struck out seven.

There have been 102 home runs in 28 games this season at Enron Field. Last year, there were a total of 118 at the Astrodome.

Singleton led off the second inning with a home run for a 2-0 lead. Hidalgo hit a solo homer in the bottom half.

Chicago added three runs in the third keyed by Konerko's two-run double. Magglio Ordonez added an RBI single for a 5-1 lead. Ward hit a two-run homer, his 11th, in the fourth.

In the fifth, Konerko walked and went to second on a wild pitch. He scored on an error when catcher Tony Eusebio dropped a throw to the plate after Singleton singled. Singleton scored on Carlos Lee's double.

Game notes
Astros reliever Doug Henry struck out a career-high five in two innings. ... The crowd of 41,117 represented the 12th sellout of the season at Houston. ... The Astros are 0-28 in games in which they trail after eight innings ... Ken Caminiti was ejected in the bottom of the eighth for arguing a third-strike call by plate umpire Dan Morrison.