Third to first

• Ventura stayed up for the entire Blackhawks triple-overtime thriller over the Bruins on Wednesday night and had more praise Friday for their hard-fought Game 1 victory in pursuit of the Stanley Cup title.

"You start looking at games and how it goes and that was probably one of the better hockey games as far as intensity and what's on the line," Ventura said. "To get it from the guys they got it, it's probably a good sign for them to get other guys in the action. Just a great win, really."

The White Sox were able to watch Wednesday night's contest when their game against the Blue Jays was postponed early in the day because of the forecast of heavy rain and inclement weather.

• Dylan Axelrod, who originally was scheduled to start Sunday against Houston, will get a full week off before taking the mound in Tuesday's series opener at Target Field.

"It's not a demotion," said Ventura of Axelrod, who gave up six runs on eight hits over four innings in Monday's fog-laden game against the Blue Jays. "It's more giving him an extra day of rest to get his strength back."

• Outfielder Dewayne Wise, who has been on the disabled list since June 2 (retroactive to May 30) with a strained right hamstring, has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte on a rehab assignment.

• Jesse Crain (Houston), John and Jordan Danks (Austin) and Adam Dunn (The Woodlands) all reside in Texas. Jeff Keppinger (2011) and Matt Lindstrom (2010) played for the Astros.

• The White Sox will be represented at the College World Series by Oregon State's Danny Hayes and Louisville's Adam Engel. Hayes, a first baseman/outfielder, was selected by the White Sox in the 13th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft. Engel, an outfielder, was taken by the White Sox in the 19th round.