CHICAGO -- John Danks' one-start respite barely survived 24 hours, before the rookie left-hander was returned to the White Sox starting rotation prior to Thursday's series finale against the Indians.

Originally scheduled to start Sunday's homestand finale against the Mariners, Jose Contreras will remain in the bullpen for the short term following his 30-pitch, two-inning effort as part of Wednesday's 13-inning victory. The White Sox have Contreras scheduled to start next Friday's opener in Seattle, with Jon Garland, Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez getting the call to the mound in Oakland.

Gavin Floyd stays in his allotted spot on Saturday, with Danks now replacing Contreras on Sunday afternoon.

"That's as far as we're going to go right now with it. That's what we got," White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said of the rotation. "We had something planned, something else came up, you know, and no matter what plan you got, you better be flexible in that plan or the plan ain't worth a [darn] anyway.

"Things happen in baseball and you got to be ready to deal with them."

Cooper admitted that giving Danks a break still stood high up on the White Sox agenda, trying to control the total innings in the hurler's first year. But with the team slowly inching closer towards the possible playoff picture, Cooper indicated that the White Sox might go with the hot hand next weekend, after Contreras, if their rise continued.

Speaking after Wednesday night's victory, Contreras explained how he understood the White Sox decision to take him out of the rotation after seven straight losses but that he also was excited to get back to starting. Manager Ozzie Guillen met with Contreras in his office Thursday afternoon, and Guillen said Contreras understood the latest change.

"We talked to him, we explained to him real well what's going on, point by point," said Guillen. "He agreed. I don't want Jose to think we're playing games with him, and I don't want Jose to think we don't respect him.

"Our bullpen right now, the last couple of days we've been using them a lot. Plus, with three days' rest, it's the first time he's come out of the bullpen, it's something different. We're going to continue to use him in the bullpen through the Oakland series, then build him to start the first game in Seattle."

Change for the better: Contreras found a crucial flaw in his pitching approach during the rotation absence, adjusting his balance on the mound. That basic switch led to better location for Contreras on Wednesday and a fastball consistently touching 93-to-94 mph.

"I was pitching off of my back foot," said Contreras through translator Ozzie Guillen Jr. "My balance was off, and I was pushing off of my back foot. I was pitching with my upper body, but not my lower body.

"That's what happened with the velocity. It was getting to me going out every start and not having it. They did the right thing putting me in the bullpen and letting me relax and find that confidence."

A silent streak: Three reporters tried to ask Bobby Jenks about his amazing streak of 35 straight hitters retired and 36 straight outs recorded on Thursday. But the White Sox closer maintained his silence concerning this historic run.

According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Jenks has the sixth-longest streak in Major League history. He trails David Wells' run of 38 for the American League mark and Jim Barr's total of 41 as the big-league record. The only admission made by Jenks in regard to his vast recent success dealt with his nifty move off the mound on Wednesday to grab Ryan Garko's high-chopper and then fire to first for the ninth inning's final out.

"You know what? One thing about that," said Jenks with a smile while thinking about the Garko play. "That was not going to be the hit."

Jenks has made 11 straight appearances of at least one inning without allowing a baserunner. According to SABR, it's the longest such streak since 1957.

Going deep: Home runs tend to come in bunches for pure hitters with power, such as A.J. Pierzynski. The White Sox catcher has begun a little run with two home runs in his last four games.

Pierzynski simply is surprised as to how long he had to wait in between stretches with the long ball.

"I went almost three months without hitting one, and I really can't believe I went that long," said Pierzynski, whose home run on Saturday in Detroit broke a stretch of 202 at-bats without going deep.

"When I had eight when I did, I was like, 'I have a chance to have a pretty good power year,'" Pierzynski added. "It shut down for a while, but I made a couple of adjustments and I'm just trying to make solid contact."

Pierzynski picked the perfect time for his 10th home run on Wednesday, tying the game off Joe Borowski leading off the 12th. His eighth home run came on May 20 at Wrigley Field, a grand slam off of Neal Cotts.

Around the horn: Bullpen coach Art Kusnyer had surgery to repair a detached retina in his right eye and was resting comfortably in his Chicago home. Kusnyer hopes to accompany the team on next week's West Coast trip. ... Juan Uribe's game-winning home run on Wednesday was the 32nd game-ending blast in the 17-year history of U.S. Cellular Field. It was the first one since Pierzynski's walk-off blast against Cleveland's Tom Mastny on Sept. 8, 2006 ... Kris Honel, the White Sox top pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft and a local product from Bourbonnais, Ill., technically is retiring from the White Sox organization. But after his retirement, the right-hander intends to pursue his career with another team and the White Sox will not stand in his way. Honel had a 5.79 ERA over 17 games for Double-A Birmingham this season, with 52 walks in 60 2/3 innings.

Down on the farm: Nevin Griffith, the 89th pick overall in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, allowed four hits and one unearned run over five innings and struck out five during Rookie-League Bristol's 3-2 victory over Greenville in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday. It was Griffith's first start after three relief appearances ... Adam Ricks drove in two during Charlotte's 7-2 loss to Richmond. Ricks has eight RBIs in seven games with the Knights ... Jon Link, acquired from San Diego for Rob Mackowiak, threw a perfect inning of relief in Class A Winston-Salem's 6-2 loss to Wilmington. Link has not allowed a run over three appearances in the White Sox system ... John Shelby knocked out his ninth home run amongst his two hits as part of Class A Kannapolis' 13-2 loss to Lake County.

On deck: Vazquez (9-6, 3.64) carries a 6-1 record with a 2.70 ERA over his last nine starts into Friday night's 7:11 CT series opener against the Mariners. Vazquez is 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA lifetime when facing Seattle.