White Sox: Five Takeaways from Series Against Tigers
White Sox avoid sweep in Detroit on Thursday with 6-3 victory. With the team four games below .500, the remainder of the season is about playing for pride and finishing strong.
The White Sox avoided another sweep by the Tigers in Detroit with a 6-3 victory over their division rival on Thursday afternoon. Behind a stellar effort from Jose Quintana, the White Sox ended their eight game road trip with a victory and a 2-6 record.
This isn’t the type of record a team would like to have as they’re currently falling out of contention. Although the White Sox aren’t going to contend for a playoff spot this season, there are still some positive things for fans to look forward to. During the team’s series with the Tigers however, there were opportunities squandered by the offense, and another rookie was badly injured in his debut game for the White Sox.
The White Sox will begin a brief three game homestand with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Although the team couldn’t string together consecutive victories over the course their road trip, there were some positives from the White Sox series against the Tigers. We will detail five takeaways from the series with the Tigers here.
Tim Anderson Had a Poor Series
The rookie shortstop went 0-for-9 during the series, although he had a hit taken away on Wednesday thanks to a spectacular play by Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias. To make matters worse for the rookie, Anderson had to leave the game on Thursday after getting hit in the left hand by a pitch thrown from Tigers starter Jordan Zimmerman.
The injury doesn’t look too serious as the team announced he had a bruised hand. This is good news for White Sox fans as they’ve endured enough suffering with rookies getting injured this season. Charlie Tilson who was acquired from the Cardinals on Sunday for relief pitcher Zach Duke, tore his left hamstring on Monday after attempting to catch a flyball. Tilson will miss the remainder of the season and became the fourth White Sox player to get inured this season in their debut game.
With Anderson’s departure on Thursday, the White Sox counted on Tyler Saladino at shortstop and inserted Carlos Sanchez into Anderson’s lineup in the batting order. Sanchez played second base for the remainder of the game and went hitless at the plate. Saladino did make a nice play to nab Nick Castellanos at home in the first inning on a J.D. Martinez double.
Justin Morneau, Avisail Garcia Have Solid Series
I can only imagine where this team would be right now if Morneau had started the season with the White Sox. Through 16 games played, Morneau is hitting .278 with three home runs and eight runs batted in. In Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Tigers, Morneau scored the White Sox only run with a solo home run in the sixth inning off starter Michael Fulmer.
On Thursday, Morneau had two hits and a sacrifice fly for the White Sox. Both of Morneau’s hits were doubles. It’s a shame Morneau wasn’t healthy to compete until July, as the White Sox badly needed a consistent left-handed hitter in their lineup.
To go along with Morneau’s solid series, Garcia hit three home runs against his former team in the series. Garcia who has been maligned by White Sox fans this season, hit three long home runs against the Tigers. Two of those home runs were hit on Tuesday in an 11-5 loss to Detroit and they were very long home runs.
Garcia’s second home run on Tuesday traveled 465 feet at Comerica Park. Garcia entered the game on Tuesday for the injured Tilson. Although Garcia’s batting average is .238 for the season, he’s hit .250 in his last seven games. On Thursday, Garcia added another home run and he has nine home runs for the season.
Jose Abreu Ended Home Run Drought
Abreu hadn’t hit a home run since June 23, the longest home run drought of his MLB career. Fortunately for the slugger, he was able to break out of his slump with a two-run home run in the second inning against the Tigers on Thursday. Abreu’s home run was just his 12th on the season and he’s projected to finish the season with 20 home runs.
After hitting 36 home runs in 2104 and 30 last season, this will be steep decline in power numbers for the veteran first baseman. Abreu hasn’t looked like himself at the plate this season, and he was expected to be a catalyst for the White Sox offense. However, Abreu has failed to hit consistently with runners in scoring position. Although he was mired in a home run drought, Abreu still has enough time to turn his season around.
I don’t think Abreu’s lack of production this season is any reason to be alarmed about 2017. Many players have poor seasons and are able to bounce back the next season. Who could forget Paul Konerko’s 2003 season? Abreu will be fine in my opinion, and hopefully Thursday’s game was the first of many games moving forward this season with Abreu hitting a home run.
Chris Sale Gets No Run Support
Sale hasn’t had much run support since returning from his suspension last Thursday against the Cubs. In his last two starts, the White Sox have scored just one run in each game for the left-handed pitcher. On Wednesday, Sale pitched his fourth complete game and recorded10 strikeouts against the Tigers.
Unfortunately, he left a fastball in the middle of the plate for pinch hitter J.D. Martinez and the Tigers jumped ahead 2-1 on the solo home run hit by the returning slugger in the eight inning. This was the second home run Martinez hit this season off Sale, and this was perhaps the biggest one hit. The Tigers were tied 1-1 with the White Sox, when Martinez pinch hit for James McCann in his return from the disabled list.
The White Sox were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in Sale’s start on Wednesday. With the loss, Sale dropped his record to 14-5 on the season. Sale has yet to win a game after the All-Star break, and hasn’t won a decision since July 2 against the Houston Astros. His 10 strikeouts on Thursday were the first time he’s recorded double-digit strikeouts in any game this season.
Jose Quintana Gets Run Support
Although Sale didn’t receive any run support from the White Sox offense on Wednesday, Quintana was able to take advantage of a five run second inning by the offense against the Tigers on Thursday. After giving up a solo home run to Ian Kinsler in the first inning, Quintana settled down and held the Tigers scoreless until the seventh inning.
Quintana had another quality start for the White Sox which should come as no surprise to most fans at this point. With the win, Quintana is one win shy of getting his 10th victory for the first time in his career. Quintana pitched 7.1 innings against the Tigers with three strikeouts and gave up just three earned runs. The victory on Thursday was Quintana’s first decision since July 19 when he earned the victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Next: White Sox: Potential Waiver Wire Trade Candidates
With the victory on Thursday, Quintana’s record is now 9-8 with a 2.93 ERA. If Quintana is able to have more quality starts moving forward this season, he could find himself in the discussion for the AL Cy Young award. Things could get interesting if both Sale and Quintana become the front-runners for the Cy Young award later this season.