ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Stretch-run moustaches slowly but surely are disappearing around the White Sox clubhouse.

So is the Sox' lead over the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central. And manager Robin Ventura's cool.

At a semi-comfortable three games after their win against Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field on Monday, the advantage was shaved to one half game on Saturday night after the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Sox 4-2. The Sox losing streak is now four.

The Angels scored four in the first against rookie lefty Jose Quintana (6-5). Three runs were unearned because of a Quintana error on a routine bunt.

Paul Konerko homered in the second inning against Dan Haren (12-11). Pinch hitter Dewayne Wise drove in the other Sox run with a groundout in the seventh.

The Sox started this game in poor fashion. Haren struck out Alejandro De Aza, Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn -- who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a double play -- in the first, this a day after the Sox struck out 12 times.

Quintana set the table for a four-run Angels first by walking leadoff man Mike Trout and then fumbling Erick Aybar's sacrifice bunt for an error. After Albert Pujols doubled in Trout, Torii Hunter singled in Aybar. Quintana walked two more in the inning and gave up an opposite field two-run single to Mark Trumbo with two outs that made it 4-0.

Ventura was ejected in the fourth inning by first base umpire Ed Hickox for arguing a balk call on Quintana, who had dug himself into a 4-0 hole in the first inning before finishing with four scoreless frames. In the fourth, Quintana filled the bases with no outs but got out of it by retiring Pujols, Hunter and Howie Kendrick.

Ventura may have been trying to light a fire under a team that has looked flat because it's not hitting. It was his fourth ejection, leaving bench coach Mark Parent in charge.

"Putting pressure on themselves to do well,'' Ventura said before the game of his hitters who are struggling. "It's more just doing the simple things. I don't think one guy has to carry this. What they have to realize is it's nine guys going up having tough at-bats.

"Look at [Friday's] game. A lot of strikeouts [12] and pop-ups. It's more putting it in play and putting pressure on the defense rather than swinging as hard as you can and hope something happens."

On the subject of hope, the Sox were thinking the Tigers-Twins day-night doubleheader Sunday might work to their advantage knowing doubleheaders are difficult to sweep.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Say this for the White Sox' losses in the last three games. Each has had its own distinct flavor.

Or, from the Sox perspective, its own foul taste.

Wednesday's loss in Kansas City was the 1-for-12 hitting exhibition with runners in scoring position. Thursday's was the exercise in bad baserunning. And Friday's was the night of the whiff.

The Sox struck out 11 times against Angels right-hander Ervin Santana in a 6-2 loss. Santana has that kind of stuff and those kinds of nights. He fanned 10 Blue Jays, Dodgers and Tigers in starts this year, and he held the Sox to two hits in seven innings.

Santana's K display featured the 200th and 201st of Adam Dunn's season, two by Alex Rios, A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo and two more by Alejandro De Aza after De Aza led off a game with a home run for the second time in four days.

"We just got our rear ends kicked,'' said manager Robin Ventura, whose team struck out 12 times all night.
"It got a point where it looked like we weren't going to do anything [offensively].
"We just have to keep playing.''

For about one minute, De Aza's hooked liner inside the right-field foul pole looked like a good start toward building their lead to 2 ½ games on the Detroit Tigers, who were rained out against the Minnesota Twins.

Instead, the Sox lead was cut to 1 1/2 as Santana proceeded to strike out four of the next six Sox and didn't allow another hit until Alexei Ramirez's two-out single in the fifth. In between, Santana piled up nine of his strikeouts.

Jake Peavy (11-12, 3.40 ERA) was no match for Santana (8-12, 4.93). The Sox' top right-hander fell to 2-8 over his last 11 road starts, allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings. Peavy struck out three and walked two.

"Maybe when the season is over I can say this was nice,'' Peavy said when asked about surpassing 200 innings for the first time since 2007. "But it's all about wins and losses. I've got to find a way to win and help this team get to the playoffs. All that matters is finding a way to win the ultimate prize. We have to dig deep and find a way.''

De Aza's homer didn't hold up long. Kendrys Morales homered for the 21st time leading off the Angels second, and Albert Pujols blooped a single in front of De Aza in center to score Chris Iannetta (single) and Mike Trout (double) in the third for a 3-1 Angels lead.

With first base open, Peavy had the options of pitching around Pujols or walking him intentionally, but facing the left-handed hitting Morales was the alternative.

In the fourth, Torii Hunter singled in two runs to make it 5-1. Trout's 26th homer, against Brian Omogrosso in the seventh, made it 6-1.

The Sox' one glimmer of hope came in the eighth when Dunn, who has 39 homers, came up with Gordon Beckham (RBI single) and De Aza on base with two outs and the Sox trailing by four, but as the theme of the night would have it, Dunn struck out against lefty Scott Downs.

Santana is getting on a nice roll at a good time for the Angels, who are running out of time in their quest to reach the postseason after spending lavishly last off-season. In six starts going into the game, Santana was 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA.

De Aza moved into the list of all-time Sox leaders with his fourth leadoff homer of the season. Ray Durham had six in 2001 and five in 2000 and 1998, and Tim Raines had five in 1993. Sammy Sosa (1990) and Jim Morrison (1979) also had four.

Discussing the team's recent offensive woes before the game, manager Robin Ventura said, "it doesn't do you any good to think about Sunday's game on Friday unless you want to lose on Friday.

"I don't think it's hard now. I think it's easier because they realize games are important and you have to be focused on what you're doing and it's fun to play the game that night instead of thinking ahead.

"You put [the significance of games in a pennant race] in the back of your mind and play. I think if you get caught up in that, your mind can start thinking about other things than the game."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Eric Hosmer hit an 0-2 pitch from Matt Thornton inside the third-base line to score pinch runner Jarrod Dyson from second in the ninth inning, and Kansas City Royals defeated the White Sox 4-3 on Thursday night.

The Sox had a chance to take a three-game lead on the Detroit Tigers, who lost to Oakland Thursday afternoon. The Sox led 3-0 but managed three hits in the final six innings. The Sox leave for Anaheim, Calif., after the game for a weekend series against the Angels.

Thornton entered the game to face Hosmer with two outs.

A night after they hit 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and popped out eight times against soft-tossing lefty Bruce Chen in a 3-0 loss with ace Chris Sale on the mound, the Sox cut the scoring tension on A.J. Pierzynski's a two-out RBI single in the first inning. It was the Sox' first earned run against Jeremy Guthrie in 24 innings this season.

In the second, the Sox cobbled together two unearned runs for a 3-0 lead on a walk to Johnson, an infield single by Alexei Ramirez, a throwing error by Guthrie on Gordon Beckham's sacrifice bunt and a 60-foot, RBI roller down the first base line by Dewayne Wise.

But the Sox offense went kaput after that, thanks in part to possibly giving away two runs on the bases. Cleanup man Alex Rios - who led off the third with a double -- was out easily at home trying to score from third on a pitch that squirted away from catcher Salvador Perez. An inning later. Perez picked off Alexei Ramirez (leadoff single) at third. In both cases, it was the second out of the inning, and had added significance when the Sox could manage three singles in the fourth through ninth innings.

Perez is nobody to mess with. He has five pickoffs this year and eight in his career, breaking Darrell Porter's club record in 1977-80.

What the Sox gave away on the bases they took back with their defense. Starting pitcher Francisco Liriano caught Eric Hosmer's bat-shattering grounder between his legs while facing second base, Wise made a running catch and crashed to the wall in left center on Gordon's drive and Beckham sprinted about 90 feet to make a sliding catch of Perez's foul near the tarp.

After Liriano sailed through the first four innings, he gave up a two-run, two-out triple to No. 9 hitter Johnny Giavotella in the fifth. When Gordon singled with one out in the sixth on Liriano's 84th pitch, Ventura brought in Nate Jones to face Billy Butler, who scored Gordon with a double off the center-field wall to tie it 3-3.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- White Sox general manager Ken Williams is not commenting on a report that he will be promoted to the position of team president after the season, with assistant GM Rick moving up to the GM chair.

The move has been discussed and speculated for some time.

Williams is saying that his focus, and the team's, is on winning a championship this season and that he won't discuss his status until after the season. The Sox are in first place in the American League Central and have a chance to win a second world title under Williams as GM. The Sox won the World Series in 2005.

Hahn has been groomed to move up and has been interviewed for several GM openings. He has also turned down interview opportunities. Hahn is in his 12th season with the Sox.

Williams has been GM since after the 2000 season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With the Oakland A's defeating the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, the White Sox went into their game against the Royals on Thursday night with a chance to build their lead to three games.

Manager Robin Ventura made a handful of changes in his lineup, giving first baseman Paul Konerko a day off because of a stiff back and inserting Dan Johnson at designated hitter. He also moved third baseman Kevin Youkilis to the sixth spot in the order against right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who has not allowed an earned run against the Sox in 23 2/3 innings.

Ventura said he expects Konerko to play Friday with the Sox open a three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels.

The batting order

De Aza LF
Wise CF
Dunn 1B
Rios RF
Pierzynski C
Youkilis 3B
Johnson DH
Ramirez SS
Beckham 2B

Liriano P.