--3B Joe Crede was a late scratch before Tuesday's game with Texas, and he remained out of the lineup Wednesday in the series finale. The third baseman is working through back stiffness and will also have Thursday's off day to let things loosen up. Crede, who had season-ending back surgery last June, has been scratched twice now this season with back stiffness, but he has yet to miss any significant time. "It was on a swing in the cage and I felt something," Crede said. "I felt it was better to take a step back. I would rather take a step back then keep pushing it and sit out much longer."

--RHP Scott Linebrink pitched a scoreless inning in Tuesday's win, his first outing since he pitched July 8 at Kansas City. He had been out because of some tightness in his pitching shoulder. On Wednesday, the veteran said he felt good and there were no setbacks. "It felt all right," Linebrink said. "That's as much as I could expect, not having been out there for two weeks. I threw strikes and it looked like the velocity was there too. It's another step along the way and hopefully just build it from here. I was just about at the end of my rope last time I was out there. It was feeling weak and tired, but now my body feels a lot better after the break. Now it's a matter of getting out there and feeling stronger with the innings."

--RHP Jose Contreras (right elbow tendinitis) is not eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list until Aug. 2. The retroactive date posted by the club on Tuesday was inaccurate, so that means the veteran is out until the series in Kansas City. Contreras did throw off flat ground Tuesday, and he said Wednesday that there were no setbacks and everything felt good.

--LHP Clayton Richard went four innings and allowed four earned runs, but manager Ozzie Guillen said afterward that the rookie's performance was good enough to get him a second start in Minnesota next week. As for Richard, his seven strikeouts were the most by a Sox pitcher making his major league debut since Ravelo Manzanillo fanned eight back in 1988.

--RHP Bobby Jenks had his first save since June 28 against the Cubs, and he said afterward that he felt 100 percent. Jenks missed a good part of July with soreness in his left scapula, spending time on the 15-day disabled list.

BY THE NUMBERS
.304 -- The Sox's batting average over their last 24 games at U.S. Cellular Field, through July 19. In that span they also averaged just under seven runs per game.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"One thing about the second half, no matter what has happened during the season, good or bad, people are not going to remember that." -- Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, on the second-half challenge that awaits his team.

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