May 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run off of Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Luke Gregerson (44) during the eighth inning at O.co Coliseum. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Oakland Athletics 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
There will be a main event of sorts on Monday night when the Chicago White Sox face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first of their three games scheduled to be played at Dodger Stadium.
The game on Monday is scheduled to start at 9:10 p.m. CT, and by all means, the matchup I’m looking forward to to seeing for the first time is Jose Abreu of the White Sox against Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers.
Abreu will be taken off the disabled list sometime today by the White Sox after recovering from an ankle injury. When he was placed on the DL he was the MLB leader in home runs with 15 and he also has 42 RBIs in his rookie campaign.
The right-handed White Sox first baseman will return to the lineup with a .260 average and .312 on-base percentage.
He’ll be facing the left-handed Kershaw who is 3-2 on the year with six starts (35.1 innings pitched). Kershaw, the former Cy Young award winner, has 46 strikeouts this season.
Abreu is batting .209 against left-handed pitching this season, with four home runs and nine total hits in 43 at-bats with seven RBIs against lefties.
This matchup should be fun to watch, not just because it is the return of Abreu, but for the fact that Abreu and Kershaw are two of the best at what they do, and something will have to give.
If you are able, I would recommend watching these two battle each other in the pitcher vs. batter matchup Monday evening.
In other White Sox news:
• White Sox GM Rick Hahn wants to balance the present and the future writes the official White Sox site.
• The Chicago Sun-Times writes that Chris Sale and Abreu “could get the White Sox rolling.”
• CSN Chicago writes that Abreu is “not feeling the pressure as his return nears.”
• Here is the Chicago Tribune’s preview to the White Sox vs. Dodgers series.
• Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago says “Sale is a no-no waiting to happen.”
In AL Central news:
• The Cleveland Indians swept the Colorado Rockies this past weekend and the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote about it.
• The Royals were shut down by Mark Buehrle on Sunday as reported by the Kansas City Star.
• The Minnesota Star Tribune writes about a 7-2 win by the Minnesota Twins over the New York Yankees, Sunday.
• Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus says Drew Smyly is “getting back on track” writes the Detroit Free Press.