CHICAGO | Rookie shortstop Mike Aviles extended his hitting streak to 10 games Sunday by going three for five in the Royals&#8217; 8-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox.</p><p>Consider it another small question answered, another small hurdle cleared.</p><p>Yes, Aviles can make adjustments at the big-league level.</p><p>The hitting streak follows a zero-for-17 skid in which Aviles looked lost at times as opposing pitchers adjusted their approach.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re (still) trying to get me to chase quite a bit,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If I was a pitcher, I&#8217;d be doing it to myself, too. I&#8217;ve just got to make my adjustments and counter-act it.&#8221;</p><p>Aviles has 19 hits in his last 43 at-bats and has his average up to .318.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s showing the ability to make the adjustments that they&#8217;re trying to make to him,&#8221; manager Trey Hillman said. &#8220;When he&#8217;s had bad at-bats and poor plate appearances because of swinging out of the strike zone, or not being balanced on his swings in the strike zone, he&#8217;s had the ability to (fix) that quicker &#8212; within the same game, even.&#8221;</p><p>This much is certain: The starting shortstop job belongs to Aviles until he proves he can&#8217;t handle it. Former starter Tony Pe&#241;a is buried on the bench.</p><p>&#8220;The most productive thing for us to do,&#8221; Hillman said, &#8220;is stay put with Mike right now.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Bannister a concern</span></strong></p><p>Brian Bannister lasted just three innings and squandered leads of 4-0 and 5-2. That follows his failure to hold an early 5-0 lead in his last start, which boosted his ERA to 5.49 overall and to 6.49 over his last 17 starts.</p><p>&#8220;It shouldn&#8217;t happen,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;There&#8217;s no other way to say it. He&#8217;s too good to go out there, especially with two outs, and give up that much damage. That&#8217;s the bottom line.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals must now decide how long to allow Bannister to work though his difficulties in their rotation. He has options remaining and can be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not putting a lot of guys on,&#8221; Bannister said, &#8220;but I haven&#8217;t been able to shut it down once they do get on. It&#8217;s the thing I&#8217;ve been battling for the last three months.</p><p>&#8220;I have no excuse for it. It&#8217;s something I&#8217;ve got to fix.&#8221;</p><p>Horacio Ramirez, a longtime starter, positioned himself as a possible alternative by working 2 2/3 scoreless innings after replacing Bannister. Ramirez has a 1.15 ERA in nine relief appearances.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an issue,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;It&#8217;s something we&#8217;ll continue to look at and address. He&#8217;s a lot better than that. We&#8217;ve either got to fix the issue or the problem or make an adjustment.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Guillen delivers late</span></strong></p><p>Back spasms kept outfielder Jos&#233; Guillen out of the starting lineup for the third straight game, but he made an impact after entering the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.</p><p>Guillen batted for slumping Alex Gordon and started the winning rally when he reached safely when hit by a pitch from Chicago reliever Octavio Dotel.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t really like the way Alex was swinging the bat today,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;I thought Hosey would inject a little more fear. He was able to get his back loose. Hopefully, we&#8217;ll have him available (tonight).&#8221;</p><p>Guillen&#8217;s biggest contribution came in the Chicago eighth when he protected the one-run lead by throwing out A.J. Pierzynski at the plate. It was Guillen&#8217;s seventh outfield assist of the season.