Sergio Santos took a blown save and a loss after coming into a 5-3 game in the ninth Wednesday against the Tigers. After entering with one on and one out, Santos gave up a game-tying homer to Alex Avila in the ninth, and he went on to allow a go-ahead single in the 10th. It was his sixth blown save and fifth loss. Five of the seven runs he's allowed since the All-Star break have come in two appearances versus Detroit.

Sergio Santos notched his 29th save of the season in Tuesday night's 3-0 win over the Twins. He struck out two. It was his first save in a week and it helped him bounce back from a few rough outings. Santos was removed from a save opportunity by manager Ozzie Guillen after giving up a walk, a single and a sac fly Monday against the Twins and he blew his fifth save of the season in Saturday's loss to the Tigers. Over those two appearances, he gave up four runs over one inning, including four hits and two homers. Despite the struggles, he has a decent amount of leash as closer.

Sergio Santos blew his fifth save of the season in Saturday's rain-soaked loss to the Tigers. Santos entered the game to a two-run lead, but he surrendered a triple to Austin Jackson, a two-run homer to Ryan Raburn, then a walkoff blast to Miguel Cabrera in the ugly ninth-inning effort. The White Sox have already committed to Santos as their closer for 2012, so his leash should remain quite long.

Sergio Santos notched his 26th save of the season in Saturday night's 3-2 win over the Rangers. Santos retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning, fanning two. The 28-year-old right-hander has a 2.73 ERA and 1.01 WHIP this season, not to mention a firm grasp on Chicago's ninth-inning role.

Sergio Santos blew his fourth save Tuesday, allowing a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth in an eventual extra-innings victory over Cleveland. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has lacked trust in Santos for the past month-and-a-half or so and this won't help. The skipper likes to play matchups with Matt Thornton and Chris Sale in the ninth inning and occasionally cost Santos a save. Tonight, Sale tossed two innings in front of Santos, so the right-hander was permitted to start the ninth. He tossed a complete inning, just the ninth time he's done that in his last 16 appearances dating back to the beginning of July. Santos has still allowed just four runs since June 13.

Sergio Santos struck out the only batter he faced to earn the save in Tuesday's 4-3 victory against the Orioles. This time, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's matchup-happy ways in the latter innings didn't cost Santos a save. Guillen called on Chris Sale to get the final two outs of the eighth inning and left him in to start the ninth to face switch-hitters Matt Wieters and Josh Bell. Santos was permitted to strike out banjo-hitting Robert Andino to end the game. Guillen no longer trusts Santos completely, leading the skipper to play matchups with Matt Thornton and Sale in the ninth inning and occasionally cost Santos a save. Since the beginning of July, Santos has tossed a full inning just seven times in 14 appearances. The lack of trust is a little puzzling, as Santos has allowed just three runs since June 13.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen let Chris Sale and Sergio Santos split the ninth inning of Monday's 6-3 win over the Tigers, keeping a potential save off the books. Guillen is really starting to irk Santos owners. As he's done lately, Guillen allowed the left-handed Sale to face lefty Brennan Boesch to lead off the inning. Santos was called on to retire big right-handed bats Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera, the latter of which came via strikeout. Santos is clearly the preferred option for saves in Chicago, but Guillen no longer trusts him completely, leading the skipper to play matchups with Matt Thornton and Sale in the ninth inning and occasionally cost Santos a save. Expect more of the same moving forward.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen let Matt Thornton and Sergio Santos split the ninth inning of Monday's 5-2 win, keeping a potential save off the books. With Santos struggling lately and Thornton in a groove, it appeared Thornton would finish the inning after recording the first two outs. Guillen has gone through several closer options this season, and based on recent ninth inning performances, there's good reason for him to re-evaluate the position.

Sergio Santos has a 7.62 ERA over 13 innings since June 8. Prior to June 8 he'd given up just four runs all season. He allowed eight earned runs over three outings between June 8-12 and then limped into the break, giving up runs in consecutive appearances. Despite his struggles since early June, he has a 22/7 K/BB rate over that span and blew just two saves. Santos has a decent grasp on the closer's job right now.

Sergio Santos slammed the door on the Cubs Tuesday, striking out three over 1 1/3 perfect innings to earn his 13th save. Santos has turned in two consecutive scoreless appearances -- striking out five over 2 1/3 innings -- since giving up eight earned runs over three outings before that. He has a 3.31 ERA and 1.22 WHIP on the season and has a decent grasp on the closer's job.