--RHP Bobby Jenks was still experiencing pain near his left scapula, so he was ruled out for Thursday's game. But the closer did see improvement. "On my follow through when I pull my left arm through, it kind of barks up on me," Jenks said. "That's what's keeping me out right now. (Thursday) it seems a lot better, the best it's felt so far. So that shows me we're making the right steps." The improvement is the reason the Sox won't put him on the 15-day disabled list. "That's what we hope (no DL)," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I wasn't too concerned about it because it wasn't his pitching arm. If it was the right side, we'd have to worry about it. Obviously, Bobby feels a lot better. (Wednesday) he was concerned about it, but today he feels a lot better. Maybe one or two days, and then he'll be fine."
--RHP Scott Linebrink will hold down the closing duties during Bobby Jenks' injury absence. LHP Matt Thornton is next in line for the ninth inning. "My closer right now is Linebrink," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I like the way he throws the ball and what he does. His mentality is fine. I don't want to put a lot of people out there and all of a sudden they don't know what they're going to do. He's been pitching well vs. lefties and righties, then we have to use him as a closer." --SS Orlando Cabrera was not in the starting lineup because manager Ozzie Guillen wanted to give him a breather. Cabrera did pinch-hit in the eighth inning, but it was a nice break as far as his manager was concerned. "He's played every day," Guillen said. "He's been great for us."
--RHP Javier Vazquez got the loss but made great strides in his latest outing as far as fixing a mechanical flaw. Sporting a 2-2 record with a 7.48 ERA in June, Vazquez went to the video and noticed he was bringing his arm out at the start of his delivery, which was "the reason I was all over the place." Pitching coach Don Cooper and Vazquez fixed it in a midweek bullpen session, and he threw the complete game against Oakland, allowing three runs on four hits in the loss to the Athletics. "That was the best I've seen Javy throw in awhile," manager Ozzie Guillen said.
--3B Joe Crede continued his recent struggles at the plate, and even with a single in his 1-for-4 showing, he is hitting just .166 in his last 11 games. Crede said his back is feeling fine, but manager Ozzie Guillen said that he will continue to give Crede some rest leading up to the All-Star Break. That means Pablo Ozuna will be getting some more playing time.
BY THE NUMBERS: 6 -- Consecutive starts Mark Buehrle had made without a loss, through June 29. His last defeat came back on May 27, at Cleveland.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think there is a bottom line -- the Twins won 10 straight and we're still in first place. So we weren't doing so bad ourselves. The Twins won 10 in-a-row and we still have a lot of games left with them. It's going to be a dogfight and we knew that from the beginning. We have to stay focused and take care of ourselves." -- C A.J. Pierzynski, on the state of the American League Central race.
