CHICAGO -- As the White Sox embark on their final road trip of the first half of the 2008 season, they do so knowing closer Bobby Jenks might not be available in Kansas City or Texas.

Jenks, who continues to be bothered by soreness just below his left scapula, missed his seventh straight game on Sunday. The burly right-hander, who has emerged as one of the game's steadiest last lines of pitching defense, played a little long toss Sunday morning, but he has yet to throw any side sessions since the pain began.

According to manager Ozzie Guillen's postgame comments, a decision will be made on Jenks' status in the next two or three days.

"If Bobby does not respond in the next couple of days, we have to do something about it," Guillen said. "It's not necessary to take a chance or a risk with him. I'm going to ask [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and talk to [White Sox athletic trainer Herm Schneider], and see what's the best thing for him.

"We have to make a decision. We will see how he reacts over the next couple of days, but if not, we will go with Plan B and see if that helps him."

By placing Jenks on the disabled list retroactive to the last day he pitched, which was June 29 against the Cubs, he basically would miss the entire road trip and be eligible to return by the start of the second half.

The White Sox also hope to have first baseman and team captain Paul Konerko back in the lineup on Tuesday in Kansas City, after a Minor League injury rehab assignment, with a corresponding roster move to come.

Aside from dealing with the injuries, the White Sox focus falls on playing better away from home. Despite taking two of three against the Dodgers in their last excursion, the White Sox enter Kansas City with a 2-10 record over their last 12 road games.

Guillen sounded a warning Sunday to beware of teams considered to be in the second division, such as the Royals and Rangers, because there are no easy marks in the American League. He also pointed out once again that for the White Sox to reach their ultimate level of success, they must win away from U.S. Cellular Field.

"We have to play better, because we can't play worse than what we've been playing on the road," said Guillen with a laugh. "Like I keep saying, we can't wait to get home to win games."

"It's important to carry over what we accomplished here [to] the road," White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski added. "We need to win these games, especially against Kansas City in our division, and end the first half on a good note."

Pitching matchup
CWS: RHP Jose Contreras (7-6, 4.02 ERA)
Contreras hasn't looked anything like the pitcher he was in April and May. His season-low 2.76 ERA on June 5 has swelled above 4.00 over his last five starts. He managed a quality start against the Indians on Wednesday, but the outcome was better than the performance would indicate. He surrendered four runs -- three earned -- over six innings. He allowed six hits and tied a season high by issuing four free passes. Contreras loaded the bases twice, but he got out of each inning with minimal damage. He did not factor in the decision and is 1-3 in his last five starts. Contreras has faced Kansas City once this season, allowing one run in seven innings

KC: RHP Kyle Davies (3-1, 4.71 ERA)
After breezing through three innings on Thursday at Baltimore, Davies ran into a wall. He was pummeled for seven runs on seven hits -- including Aubrey Huff's two homers -- in the next inning-plus. The Royals rallied to take him off the hook, but this was the third straight start in which Davies was roughed up. Before that, he'd had four superb outings since being recalled from Triple-A. Davies has pitched just once against the White Sox, losing, 6-1, last Aug. 19, when he lasted just 4 1/3 innings.

Tidbits
Guillen sounded a comical warning to rookie level Great Falls manager Chris Cron, one of the most respected coaches in the White Sox system, after noticing his son, Oney, had just six at-bats over two games through the team's first 19 contests. "Someone is going to get fired in the Minors soon," said Guillen with a wry smile prior to Sunday's victory. ... Brent Morel, the White Sox third-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, already has been promoted to Class A Kannapolis. He hit .375 over 15 games for Great Falls. ... Through seven innings of Sunday's rain-delayed game for Triple-A Charlotte, Konerko had one double, one walk and one RBI. ... Jim Thome walked for the 1,507th time in his career, tying him with Mike Schmidt for 16th on the all-time list. ... The White Sox are 12-3 in day games played at U.S. Cellular. ... The White Sox bullpen owns a 2.18 ERA in the last 12 games. ... Dewayne Wise is hitting .419 in his last 10 games. ... Alexei Ramirez is hitting .359 in his last 32 games.

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Up next
• Wednesday: White Sox (Javier Vazquez, 7-7, 4.37) at Royals (Brian Bannister, 7-8, 5.15), 7:10 p.m. CT
• Thursday: White Sox (Mark Buehrle, 6-7, 3.91) at Royals (Zack Greinke, 7-5, 3.62), 7:10 p.m. CT
• Friday: White Sox (Gavin Floyd, 10-4, 3.22) at Rangers (TBD), 7:05 p.m. CT