CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy underwent an MRI examination that revealed a mild strain of his right groin, the White Sox confirmed Monday.

Peavy will be examined on a daily basis, but no move was made to put the right-hander on the disabled list as of now.

Peavy was removed from Sunday’s game against the Detroit Tigers in the fourth inning. He had been dealing with a sore right groin since his May 30 start at Boston and aggravated it Sunday while trying to cover first base. He continued to pitch, giving up six runs in the inning.

It is yet another injury for Peavy in his short tenure with the White Sox. When he was traded to the club in 2009 he was working through an ankle strain. Last season he blew out his latissimus dorsi muscle and needed surgery. When rehabbing from that injury this spring he went through a bout of rotator cuff tendinitis.

On Sunday he was making his fifth start since returning from the surgery last July.

Manager Ozzie Guillen said before Monday’s game that the White Sox will return to a five-man rotation for as long as Peavy is out. They had been using a six-man rotation since Peavy came off the disabled list on May 11.

Doug Padilla covers the White Sox for ESPNChicago.com.

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Chicago White Sox starter Jake Peavy reacts during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Chicago, Sunday, June 5, 2011.

White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy has left Chicago’s game against the Detroit Tigers with a strained right groin.
Peavy allowed six runs in the fourth inning, then departed. He will be re-evaluated on Monday.
Peavy’s 2010 season ended when he injured his right shoulder on July 6.
The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner rejoined the team on May 11 after recovering from shoulder surgery and was 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in four starts before Sunday’s game.

(AP) – Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen’s return to the dugout after after a two-game suspension wasn’t able to add a spark to the slumping White Sox.

With the offense reeling and the pitching staff inconsistent, Mark Buehrle hopes to snap out of his personal funk and help the White Sox avoid another sweep Monday night in the conclusion of a four-game set with the visiting Baltimore Orioles.

Guillen was back on the bench Sunday after a ban from Major League Baseball for posting messages about an umpire on his Twitter account when he was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the New York Yankees. The White Sox (10-19) lost both games in his absence to Baltimore, and the team’s struggles continued Sunday with a 6-4 defeat – Chicago’s fifth straight.

A loss Monday would mark the fourth time the White Sox were swept in a series this season and the first time Baltimore completed a four-game sweep in Chicago since July 6-9, 1995.

The White Sox have scored four or less runs in 17 of their last 18 games, and only Brent Lillibridge – who homered Sunday – is batting above .300. Adam Dunn hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the eighth, but he’s hitting .171 with 31 strikeouts.

The pitching staff has struggled as well, ranking last in the AL with 149 runs allowed.

Paul Konerko, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI, believes things will turn around soon.

“Just because you go out and play hard doesn’t mean you’re going to win or get the hit,” he said. “But over the long haul, you’ve got to believe you will. I believe I will and I believe the team will.”

Buehrle (1-3, 5.12 ERA) may hope Konerko is correct. He’s lost his last three starts, allowing 13 runs and 24 hits in 17 2-3 innings. He gave up three runs over seven innings in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at New York.

The left-hander also has lost three consecutive starts against Baltimore and is 5-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 16 career appearances versus the Orioles (13-13), winners of five of six.

Buehrle looks to slow a Baltimore offense which has scored 22 runs through the first three games of the series, though the Orioles have had some success against him.

Vladimir Guerrero is 12 for 33 (.364) with four home runs versus Buehrle, while Brian Roberts (13 for 39) and Nick Markakis (10 for 23) also have hit the left-hander well.

Markakis was hitless in his last 16 at-bats with runners in scoring position before his three-run double Sunday in the Orioles’ five-run fifth inning off White Sox starter Gavin Floyd extended Baltimore’s lead to 5-0.

“(Floyd) went away from his fastball, he threw a lot of cutters, slider and curveballs, you can almost go up there and sit on an offspeed pitch,” Markakis said. “The more pitches you can eliminate, the easier to hit.”

Jeremy Guthrie (1-3, 2.53) looks for his first win since April 1, though he pitched well in his most recent start. Guthrie went six scoreless innings Wednesday against Boston before Baltimore won 5-4.

The right-hander is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his last four starts against Chicago. He’s held most of the current White Sox lineup at bay through his career, as Konerko is 5 for 24 (.208) while Alexei Ramirez, Omar Vizquel and Gordon Beckham are a combined 4 for 37 (.108) lifetime against Guthrie.

The Orioles have won six of the last eight meetings.

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Curtis Granderson(notes) has the New York Yankees playing well as they return home to face a team they’ve dominated in the Bronx.

Granderson looks to stay hot as the Yankees open a four-game series against the slumping Chicago White Sox on Monday.

New York (12-6) has won three straight and seven of nine. It’s averaged 6.6 runs and has hit 18 homers during that nine-game stretch.

The Yankees closed a rain-shortened, two-game series at Baltimore over the weekend with a 6-3, 11-inning victory Sunday. Russell Martin(notes) drove in Robinson Cano(notes) with the go-ahead run after Mariano Rivera(notes) gave up the lead in the ninth – his second blown save in nine tries.

“We found a way to get it done,” manager Joe Girardi said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Cano doubled to lead off the 11th, extending his hitting streak to 13 games. He’s batting .345 during that run.

New York also received another big game from Granderson, who hit a two-run homer – his seventh of the season and fifth in seven games – while driving in three runs. Granderson, who is hitting .424 during an eight-game hitting streak, will try to extend it versus the White Sox, although he’s hitting only .218 against them during his career – his lowest average against any AL opponent.

However, teammate Derek Jeter(notes), who had four hits Sunday, is batting .519 in his last seven home games against Chicago.

The Yankees have won 13 of these teams’ last 16 meetings in the Bronx.

A visit to Yankee Stadium could make an already horrendous road trip even worse for Chicago (8-14). The White Sox have dropped 10 of 11 overall and six of seven on their 11-game swing.

Chicago got outscored 21-3 in a weekend sweep at Detroit, suffering shutouts in the last two games. The White Sox lost 3-0 Sunday, extending their scoreless streak to 20 innings.

Chicago is batting .193 over the last 11 games. Adam Dunn(notes) went 0 for 3 with one strikeout Sunday, dropping his average to a season-low .145. The veteran slugger has two hits and 15 strikeouts in his last 30 at-bats.

“Nothing works,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I’ll keep plugging guys in and hope things come around, but now every day is like rewinding a movie and watching it again.”

While their offense is slumping, White Sox hitters have had success in the past against A.J. Burnett(notes) (3-0, 4.37 ERA).

Burnett has lost his last two starts against Chicago, giving up 16 runs and 18 hits in eight innings.

However, Dunn is 3 for 14 with five strikeouts against Burnett.

The right-hander failed to pick up his fourth straight victory Tuesday, when another blown save by Rivera led to a 6-5, 10-inning loss to Toronto. Burnett allowed three runs in 5 1-3 innings, striking out six but walking five.

Phil Humber(notes) (1-2, 4.42) will start for the White Sox, seeking to avoid losing a third straight start.

The right-hander allowed a season-high four runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

In the rotation in place of the injured Jake Peavy(notes), Humber has received just four total runs of support in three starts.

DETROIT (AP) – Even after his team shut down the Chicago White Sox for the first two games of the series, Detroit’s Max Scherzer took nothing for granted.

“It doesn’t matter how they’re playing, what they’re swinging like. You’ve got to come with your A game and be ready,” Scherzer said. “You have to go out there with the mentality that you’re going to have to be on the attack.”

Scherzer was focused and prepared, allowing four hits in eight outstanding innings, and the Tigers beat Chicago 3-0 on Sunday to finish a three-game sweep of the struggling White Sox.

Scherzer (4-0) struck out seven and walked three, helping the Tigers shut out Chicago for a second straight day. The White Sox were outscored 21-3 in the series and looked overmatched against Detroit starters Justin Verlander, Brad Penny and Scherzer.

“Justin was just absolutely overpowering. Brad had a great two-seamer going and located as well as anybody did,” Detroit catcher Alex Avila said. “Max, being able to locate with all three pitches — all three pitches working for him today — that keeps hitters off balance.”

After Penny took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Saturday, Scherzer made it to the fifth with one before allowing A.J. Pierzynski’s leadoff single. Mark Teahen, the next batter, grounded into a double play.

The White Sox have lost 10 of 11 and now must head to New York for a four-game series against the Yankees.

“Nothing works,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I’ll keep plugging guys in and hope things come around, but now every day is like rewinding a movie and watching it again.”

John Danks (0-3) allowed three runs on nine hits in six innings. He struck out eight and walked two. Danks has a 3.27 ERA, but the White Sox haven’t won any of his five starts.

Detroit has won nine straight over the White Sox.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the fourth after loading the bases with nobody out. Danks struck out Casper Wells, but Avila hit a broken-bat groundball to drive in a run.

Brandon Inge and Austin Jackson each hit RBI doubles with two outs in the sixth. Detroit has bounced back nicely from a 3-7 start. The Tigers are now 12-10, while Chicago and Minnesota — the other expected contenders in the American League Central — are below .500.

“Getting guys out there and getting in a groove is really what you think about,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “You want to play good baseball — steady. I think we’re doing that pretty good right now.”

Detroit’s starting pitchers have led the way with 14 quality starts in the last 18 games. The Tigers allowed three solo homers Friday night, but that was all of Chicago’s scoring in the series.

Scherzer left after 104 pitches, and Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his fifth save. The White Sox finished with five hits, and two of them didn’t leave the infield.

Pierzynski and Juan Pierre had two hits each for Chicago, but the White Sox didn’t get a runner past second base.

“The worst thing about being a coach in baseball or a manager is that you can only send nine guys out and pray,” Guillen said. “You can’t run plays like in basketball, and you can’t change your defense like in football.”

Jackson and Brennan Boesch had two hits each for the Tigers.

NOTES: Jake Peavy threw a side session Sunday of at least 40 pitches and reported no issues. The Chicago right-hander has been bothered by muscle tenderness and irritation in his surgically repaired throwing shoulder. “It’s hard to be talking about this when the team is struggling like this,” Peavy said. “I let it go today and everything checked out. I’m excited about the progress.” … Chicago’s Omar Vizquel started at 2B on his 44th birthday. “I don’t think too many people think at the age of 44 they’ll still be playing baseball,” he said before the game. “I’m still having fun. That’s the main thing.” … Detroit DH Magglio Ordonez singled in the fifth and is now 15 for 26 against Danks. … White Sox DH Adam Dunn drew his 1,000th walk in the fourth. … The time of game was 2 hours, 19 minutes.