Sox Notes: Some good news on the injury front ahead of the Boston series
There is some positive injury news for a change, and we take a look at the weekend tilt with the Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Thursday was the epitome of a getaway day lineup as Tony La Russa rested Yoán Moncada and held Eloy Jiménez (knee bruise) out of the finale in Oakland.
Reynaldo López allowed one earned run (and two unearned runs thanks to an errant pickoff attempt at second base). The bullpen trio of Ryan Burr, Aaron Bummer, and Ryan Tepera held Oakland scoreless for three innings, but the White Sox dropped the finale and the series to Oakland 3-1 at the Coliseum.
Now it’s back to the windy city as the White Sox welcome the Red Sox for a weekend tilt between American League contenders.
Some Good News from the Trainer’s Room
Tony La Russa hopes to have Carlós Rodon (last pitched on 9/1), Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn (last pitched 8/28), and Lucas Giolito take the ball over the next four days.
Carlós Rodon is not currently on the IL, but Lance Lynn is on the 10-day IL, so we can expect to see a roster move to make La Russa’s plan possible.
La Russa also expects outfielder Eloy Jiménez to return to the lineup tonight against the Red Sox after missing a pair of games with a bruised knee suffered on Tuesday night when he was hit with a foul ball in the White Sox dugout in Oakland.
As for Tim Anderson, he has taken batting practice this week and done some work in the infield but remains on the 10-day IL for the time being with no timeline on his return to speak of. Tony La Russa admitted that his presence in the lineup has been sorely missed, stating that the White Sox have "managed to survive, but [we] certainly haven’t thrived” in his absence.
Battle of the Sox
If you’re jonesing for some playoff baseball as we drudge through the final weeks of the regular season, you’ll be in for an entertaining weekend when the 80-62 Boston Red Sox come to town beginning tonight.
While the Red Sox will be without Chris Sale (a big-time bummer from an aesthetics perspective) due to a positive COVID-19 test announced early Friday afternoon, the series will feature two teams firmly entrenched in the race for October berths.
Let’s take a look at the potential matchups, assuming that Tony La Russa’s hopes that Rodón and Lynn will pitch this weekend, in fact, come to fruition.
Friday (7:10 pm): Carlos Rodón (11-5, 2.41 ERA) vs. Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.26 ERA)
Saturday (6:10 pm): Dylan Cease (11-7, 3.87 ERA) vs. TBD
Sunday (1:10 pm): Lance Lynn (10-4, 2.59 ERA) vs. TBD
- Carlos Rodón will make his return after missing a start with left shoulder fatigue/soreness that has plagued him for about the last month all-in-all at this point.
- Rodón tossed five innings of one-run ball in his last start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on 9/1. I have to imagine that Rodón’s night will end somewhere around the fifth inning or 75-pitch mark tonight.
- Lance Lynn, who threw a pair of bullpens this week, will make his first start since August 28, on Sunday. Lynn said that the rest of the season would be an exercise in “managing” the knee issue that has plagued him since the Field of Dreams game last month, with the offseason reserved for the time to address the issue wholly.
- Eloy Jiménez, who has sported a less-than-inspiring .720 OPS over his last 10 games, will return to the lineup tonight after getting a breather during the Oakland series. Let’s hope that Jiménez can hit the reset button and start to get hot for the stretch run. Look, a .720 OPS isn’t something to frown at for like 90% of baseball, but with Eloy’s freak power abilities, he’s going to be well north of .800 when he’s really clicking.
- The Red Sox have lost Chris Sale to the COVID-19 IL for this series with Chicago, but All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts is expected to re-join the club today and be available for Alex Cora to use in the series with the White Sox.
- Boston is currently nine games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East but sits atop the AL Wild Card standings with a one-game lead over the New York Yankees.
This and That
- Steve Stone loves him some Leury Garcia.
- A fantastic read by The Athletic’s James Fegan:
- Check out the latest episode of the Good Guys Talk Back podcast by Nick Murawski and Pat Hester with James Fox as their latest guest:
Featured Image: USA Today Sports