White Sox start outfielders with same last name against Twins. South Siders without veteran outfielder in weekend series.
Friday’s Chicago White Sox game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field will feature a rather interesting coincidence. With outfielders Melky Cabrera and Jacob May both out of the lineup for the series opener against the division rival Twins, the ChiSox will have an All-Garcia outfield for the first time this season.
Starting left fielder Cabrera has temporarily left the team on paternity leave to celebrate the birth of his daughter. Cabrera is expected to miss this series against Minnesota and return for the next series versus his former team the New York Yankees. In Cabrera’s place, the White Sox recalled 24-year old outfielder Willy Garcia from Triple-A Charlotte to make his Major League debut in Friday night’s game.
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Willy Garcia has been one of the stars in Charlotte and looks to make the most of his opportunity on the Major League roster. In seven games for the Charlotte Knights, Willy Garcia hit .423 (18-26) with two home runs, six RBI’s, and nine runs scored. He earned the league’s Batter of the Week award this past week.
May, who began the season as the starting center fielder, has not been played in the last two games and has overall been a disappointment. He has still yet to record a hit in six games and 14 at-bats and has struck out six times. He has managed to drive in two runs and a be a nice option for a pinch-runner, but his time in the Major Leagues seems to be running out.
The young outfielder has been once again benched for Friday’s game for utility man Leury Garcia. Leury Garcia has been far-more productive hitting .250 with two doubles, and a stolen base. In addition to Leury Garcia’s minor success at the plate, he has great speed and is a nice option defensively.
In right field, it’s been the Avisail Garcia show so far this season. Avisail Garcia has been fantastic at the plate, batting an MLB-best .452, with an AL-best 14 hits. Avisail Garcia has a double, a triple, and a home run with eight RBI’s so far this year. He has also logged four multi-hit games out of eight games played this year.
In tonight’s lineup: Batting fifth, RF Avisail Garcia, batting seventh LF Willy Garcia, and batting ninth CF Leury Garcia.
According to the White Sox Twitter account, this will be the first time in MLB history a team starts three outfielders with the same last name. To clarify: This will be the fourth game in which all three outfielders with the same last name played together in the same game. The Alou brothers in San Francisco played together three times in 1963, but all three did not start any of those games.
Next: Melky Cabrera on Paternity Leave
Also, making their 2017 debuts in this game will be starting pitcher Dylan Covey and catcher Kevan Smith. Covey, who will be making his ever Major League start, is replacing the injured Carlos Rodon, and Smith is replacing Geovany Soto who was recently placed on the 10-Day disabled list on Thursday.