Third to first
• The White Sox entered Monday's series opener with the Astros ranked 13th in the AL with just 118 homers. Although fans have railed against previous homer-based offenses on the South Side, the team needs the long ball for success according to Robin Ventura.
"Absolutely. You have the DH, so it just creates another bat that should be a power bat that can do that in your lineup," Ventura said. "Early in the year, it didn't seem like we were getting them at the right time.
"Lately, they've been coming at important times. You look back, [Dayan] Viciedo [grand slam] in Kansas City, [Adam] Dunn the other day against [Yu] Darvish, Jordan [Danks] yesterday and [Josh] Phegley. You get them at the right time and it's good for you and gives you the kind of distance at that time to push ahead and give your bullpen a chance."
From 2000-08, the White Sox hit at least 200 homers in every season but 2007, when they hit 190. They dipped below 200 from 2009-11, with a low of 154 two years ago, but hit 211 in '12.
Two homers in a 10-8 loss to the Astros increased this season's total to 120.
• Avisail Garcia was back in the starting lineup Monday after running into the right-field wall trying to catch Jeff Baker's homer Sunday. He left the game with dizziness, but Ventura said it was more about dehydration and there were no concussion symptoms.
• Jacob May, the third-round pick for the White Sox in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, was named South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 19-25. May hit .500 with one homer, eight runs scored and five stolen bases in seven games for Class A Kannapolis.
May, the nephew of former White Sox player Carlos May, is hitting .302 with seven homers, 31 RBIs and 21 stolen bases between stops with the Intimidators and Great Falls.
• Brad Goldberg made his debut for Class A Winston-Salem on Sunday, throwing three scoreless innings. Goldberg, selected in the 10th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft by the White Sox, is the only player from the White Sox Draft class to advance as high as Winston-Salem. He has a 1.11 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 32 1/3 innings over stops at Great Falls, Kannapolis and Winston-Salem.
• John Danks became the first pitcher to start and win a Major League game in which his brother homered as a teammate since June 28, 1947, per Elias. Walker Cooper went deep in that game for the New York Giants, while his brother, Mort, threw a complete game at the Polo Grounds.