Putz puts Sox in reverse gear

CHICAGO | This J.J. Putz idea isn't working out too well for the White Sox.

Only 18-some hours after Putz blew Saturday night's game by serving up a ninth-inning homer to light-hitting Detroit Tigers catcher Al Avila, he coughed up the Sunday matinee in the eighth inning via Johnny Damon's two-run triple off the center-field wall.

Timing is everything, and the Sox' first second-half downturn is as ill-timed as possible. The Sox, misfiring via their bullpen, lineup and starting rotation -- in that order -- have lost six of their last eight games, including a 2-4 homestand against the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers.

The second consecutive loss to the Tigers, by a messy 13-8 count, was coupled with a fourth straight Twins victory (22-8 since the All-Star break) to drop the Sox three games behind Minnesota.

While not hanging crepe over Putz's back-to-back failures, manager Ozzie Guillen repeatedly proclaimed the Sox were sluggish Sunday.

"I don't see any energy in the ballclub," he said.

Now the Sox cannot afford to lose their re-match three-game series with Minnesota this week. That would result in even more ground lost in the American League Central race, after the two teams were tied only five days ago.

Putz, who readily explained his Saturday night loss afterward, declined comment Sunday. When a reporter approached, he said, "Not today," and left the clubhouse.

Putz could have been weary. He pitched in three straight games for the first time since July 28-30, 2007 when he was Seattle's closer.

"He's thrown four out of five games," Guillen said. "That's tough. I'm not going to give up on him."

Guillen claimed he used Putz in the eighth inning due to matchups, not because he wanted to avoid using him in the ninth. Putz and Matt Thornton are alternating closer duties while Bobby Jenks' status, made worse by a sore back, is up in the air.

"He's tough," first baseman Paul Konerko said of Putz. "He's closed before and been in a tough situations for a long time. He'll be ready to go Tuesday. We're all behind him, and that goes for anyone in here. I'm sure he's disappointed. But there's no worries. Any time he touches the ball, I feel good about it."

Putz and center fielder Andruw Jones, who dropped Brandon Inge's long fly to right-center that enabled Damon to score, put the Sox in a hole. But reliever Tony Pena totally buried his teammates by allowing four more Tigers runs in the ninth, starting with Jhonny Peralta's second homer of the game.

Putz's and Jones' foibles negated the good feelings of a strong Sox comeback from a 5-1 deficit. The Sox scored four in the fifth inning, then surged ahead 7-5 in the sixth on Alexei Ramirez's single and Konerko's two-run homer (No. 29). Sox starter Freddy Garcia endured his second consecutive poor start. He allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.

Over his last two starts, Garcia has permitted 11 runs and 16 hits in 7 1/3 innings, his ERA ballooning to 5.07. He is 1-2 with an 8.44 ERA in his last five starts. August overall is not kind to Garcia with a 5-9 mark and 5.76 ERA in 22 starts in the dog-days month since 2004.