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Danks set to return as White Sox finish set with Royals

Jul 20, 2011 - 2:51 PM (Sports Network) -The Chicago White Sox look to get back on track on their current road trip and will shoot for a series victory over the Kansas City Royals tonight from Kauffman Stadium.

The White Sox dropped a 4-2 decision last night in the second matchup of this set, as Jake Peavy took the loss for giving up three runs and seven hits in six innings. He is now 4-4 on the season for Chicago, which is 4 ? games behind Detroit and Cleveland for the AL Central lead.

"Jake threw the ball. I'm not going to say he threw the ball outstanding. He fought through it. I thought he threw the ball good enough," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said on the club's website.

Chicago built a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to RBI hits from Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios, but couldn't keep the Royals off the board for the remainder of the game. Rios had a team-high two hits for the Pale Hose, who recorded a 5-2 series-opening win and are 3-2 on a nine-game road trip. Cleveland is the next stop for the White Sox.

Chicago is expected to activate John Danks off of the disabled list today so he can make his 16th start of the season against Kansas City. Danks hasn't pitched since June 25 because of a strained right oblique and lasted just 1 2/3 innings in a 3-0 win over Washington in that late June contest.

Danks struck out two batters before exiting the game.

"I'm going to work hard and try to get back as soon as possible. I hate having to miss a start if I don't have to, but it's worth missing a start to not miss the rest of the season," Danks said. "We are going to be smart with it."

The left-hander, who is aiming for his 50th career win (49-52), is 3-8 with a 4.21 ERA in 15 starts this season. Danks began the season 0-8 with a 5.25 ERA over 11 starts, but has won three of his last four outings (3-0). He is 1-6 in seven road starts, but 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA in eight career starts against KC.

Kansas City put the brakes on a three-game slide last night and won for the second time in seven tries. It took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Matt Treanor singled home Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur with one out.

"The pitch to Treanor, obviously, kills me," Peavy said. "I felt like I made a good pitch to Billy ... Francoeur, out in front of the ball, hit the ball down the line, you know, bad pitch. I had a chance. Had a chance to get out of it, just didn't make a pitch to Treanor."

Melky Cabrera hit a solo homer in the seventh for the Royals, who will also host Tampa Bay for three games and are a distant 12 1/2 games off the lead in the AL Central. Danny Duffy got the win with seven solid innings and allowed two runs with six strikeouts and two walks. Greg Holland and Joakim Soria both threw a scoreless inning of relief and Soria notched his 17th save.

Bruce Chen will handle pitching duties for the Royals tonight and he's lost three of his last five decisions, spanning seven starts, to go along with a 4.31 earned run average. Chen lasted five innings in an 8-4 loss at Minnesota last Thursday and gave up four runs and nine hits to fall to 5-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 11 starts.

"Bruce wasn't sharp," Yost said. "Nobody was very sharp tonight on the pitching side of it. Bruce was in and out of trouble, really, in every inning and in the fifth he got two quick outs, then the walk and then the roof caved in."

The native of Panama was 3-0 over his first four starts and hopes to keep his unbeaten mark at home intact. In six starts at Kauffman Stadium this season, Chen is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA.

The left-hander defeated the White Sox in a 4-1 decision on July 6, when he held the hosts to a run and four hits over six innings. Chen, however, is 1-3 in 11 career games (6 starts) in this matchup.

Kansas City leads the season series with Chicago by a 4-3 count.