WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST

Transcription

1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST 5, 2016 Abreu, Garcia HRs back Quintana to cap trip Kyle Beery and Jason Beck, MLB.com Anderson day to day with bruised left hand Kyle Beery, MLB.com White Sox remain optimistic after ending trip on good note Kyle Beery, MLB.com Gonzalez faces O s as White Sox open homestand Kyle Beery, MLB.com White Sox bats support Jose Quintana in skid-snapping win over Tigers Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago White Sox rookie Tim Anderson day to day with bruised left hand Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago Adam Eaton hits third as White Sox try to shake up offense Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago White Sox: James Shields unhappy with Padres owner s critical comments Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago Thursday s recap: White Sox 6, Tigers 3 Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune Jose Abreu snaps 32-game homerless streak to lead White Sox to victory Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune Rookie Tim Anderson dodged big bullet after being hit by pitch on hand Collen Kane, Chicago Tribune White Sox catch a break, and get a win Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times Jose Abreu snaps 32-game homerless skid Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times White Sox Anderson leaves game with bruised left hand Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times White Sox beat Tigers 6-3, snapping Detroit s streak at 8 Noah Tristor, Associated Press White Sox rookie Anderson leaves after being hit by pitch Noah Tristor, Associated Press Hawk can t stop talking about the White Sox schedule Lauren Comitor, The Athletic Through the (waiver) wire: Cubs, White Sox can still add in August Joe Sheehan, The Athletic Spiegel: White Sox s failure to capitalize on Chris Sale s dominance is historic Matt Spiegel, CBS Chicago White Sox play-by-play man Hawk Harrelson Schedule makers stuck it up our behind this year CBS Chicago Abreu, Garcia HRs back Quintana to cap trip By Kyle Beery and Jason Beck / MLB.com August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- One day after J.D. Martinez returned from the disabled list with a go-ahead home run, Jordan Zimmermann didn't have nearly the same impact for the Tigers in his comeback. The White Sox pounced on the veteran right-hander for six runs over 1 2/3 innings and ended Detroit's eight-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park. The Tigers' loss, combined with an Indians win over the Twins earlier in the day, halted Detroit's momentum in the AL Central race, restoring Cleveland's division lead to three games. Zimmermann (9-5), making his first Major League start since June 30 due to a right neck strain, looked out of form, retiring just five of the 14 batters he faced with a fastball in the low 90s and secondary pitches that lacked their usual sharpness. He reported an issue with his right lat, different from the neck injury, but he tried to pitch through it. The White Sox took advantage with a five-run second inning, starting with former Tiger Avisail Garcia's third homer of the series and continuing with Jose Abreu's two-run blast.

2 "At the beginning of the game, everything was kind of going up -- up and in to a righty, up and away to a lefty," Tigers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "That obviously is from not being able to reach out there, extend out and get on top of the ball." Detroit's bullpen limited the damage to that, but the half-dozen runs gave Jose Quintana (9-8) enough support to attack Tigers hitters for 7 1/3 quality innings despite two solo homers. Quintana picked up his fourth consecutive win and his first against Detroit since Aug. 31, MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Abreu snaps streak: With three runs already across in the second inning, Abreu took Zimmermann deep for a two-run shot to end his day. The homer opened up a 6-1 lead for the White Sox. Abreu had not gone deep since June 23. He went 32 games and 137 plate appearances between homers. White Sox manager Robin Ventura was pleased to see Abreu finally play long ball again. "Right now, even the last few days, we've seen the ball jumping off his bat, not chasing a lot of stuff," Ventura said. "He looks pretty comfortable at the plate, and everything that's coming off his bat is pretty solid." Kinsler connects: The Tigers answered Chicago's first-inning run four pitches into Quintana's outing, when Ian Kinsler turned on a breaking ball and sent it out to left for his 21st home run of the season. It marked Kinsler's fifth leadoff homer this year and the 37th of his career, the latter tying Ichiro Suzuki for seventh in Major League history. "[Quintana] doesn't throw many pitches over the middle of the plate. He's mostly on the corner, and it was no exception today," Kinsler said. "For myself, I just got one over the middle -- basically right down the middle." Quintana bends, doesn't break: After surrendering a leadoff homer in the first, Quintana settled into a groove to cruise through the sixth inning. Quintana allowed three straight singles to begin the seventh inning as the Tigers cut the deficit to 6-2. He then gathered himself after a mound visit from Ventura and settled down to get three straight outs and escape any further damage. "After giving up the leadoff homer, it just seemed like he snapped back in," Ventura said of Quintana. "I don't know if the focus can get any higher for him, but it just seemed like he was spot-on once he gave up that homer. He was intent on seeing if he could complete this thing." Cabrera rejoins 25-homer club: Miguel Cabrera posted 11 consecutive seasons with at least 25 home runs before falling to 18 last year. His eighth-inning solo homer off Quintana put him back in the club. Cabrera also became the fourth active player with 12 or more 25-homer seasons, joining Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Albert Pujols. QUOTABLE "It would be a little bit of a gut punch, but I don't think it would knock us to the mat." -- Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, on the possibility of Zimmermann returning to the disabled list REPLAY REVIEW For the second time this series, the White Sox challenged a foul ball called on a pitch that struck both a batter and his bat. This time, replay showed that Zimmermann's fourth pitch of the game hit Tim Anderson first, overturning the initial call after a 34-second review. Anderson left the game at the end of the inning with a bruised left hand and is day to day. WHAT'S NEXT

3 White Sox: Chicago opens a short three-game homestand with the Orioles. Miguel Gonzalez (2-5, 4.06 ERA) takes the mound at 7:10 p.m. CT on Friday to face his former club. Gonzalez is coming off a month of July in which he posted a 2.50 ERA and went six innings or deeper in each of his six starts. Tigers: Justin Verlander (11-6, 3.54 ERA) will face old friend and former teammate Curtis Granderson when the Mets come to town for a 7:10 p.m. ET Friday matchup to open a three-game weekend series at Comerica Park. Noah Syndergaard (9-5, 2.48 ERA) is scheduled to start for New York. Anderson day to day with bruised left hand By Kyle Beery / MLB.com August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- Rookie shortstop Tim Anderson left Thursday's 6-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park after being struck in the left hand by a Jordan Zimmermann pitch to lead off the game. Tyler Saladino moved from second base to shortstop, while Carlos Sanchez entered the game at second. The club later announced that Anderson exited with a bruised hand, and X-rays were negative. He is day to day. Anderson said after the game that it was a scary moment considering four other White Sox rookies have been injured this season. "It was relieving to get those X-rays negative," Anderson said. "It was a good moment, but a bad moment at the same time." Anderson expects to miss a few days, but he doesn't think it will have too much of a lingering effect. The pitch that hit Anderson was initially ruled a foul ball, but the White Sox challenged the call, and replay overturned it. Anderson came around to score on a sacrifice fly hit by Justin Morneau before exiting. White Sox manager Robin Ventura was also nervous following the play that momentarily held up the game when he and trainer Herm Schneider went out to check on him. "When het got hit, it didn't sound very good," Ventura said. "I know he wasn't feeling very good when we went out and checked on him. You're a little nervous to throw him back out there that he might do something weird diving for a ball or something like that. So it was best to get him checked out." White Sox remain optimistic after ending trip on good note By Kyle Beery / MLB.com August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- The White Sox have quite the uphill battle to get back into postseason contention, sitting 10 games behind the first-place Indians and seven back of the second American League Wild Card spot, but Thursday's 6-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park was a good place to start. Before the victory, manager Robin Ventura said that it would be easy for his players to get down on themselves being down in the standings. But he hasn't seen any of that. In fact, after the game, Ventura said he thinks ending the team's 2-6 road trip on a positive note could build momentum moving forward. It was a plus to see players swing the bat well, including a home run by Jose Abreu that snapped a 32- game homerless drought. To go along with the team's offensive outburst, left-hander Jose Quintana finally got some run support. The White Sox six runs on Thursday were the most they have scored with Quintana on the mound this season, and Ventura said that sure felt good. "It's nice when the guys swing the bat like that and [Quintana] gets a win," Ventura said. "We haven't really been swinging it that good, and [Quintana has] not really been one to get a lot of run support. So I think the combination of that is going to be a nice flight home."

4 While optimism still hangs around the team, the White Sox are hitting a crucial stretch of the schedule in terms of trying to stay relevant. Nine of their next 12 games come against teams above.500. Quintana said getting a win on the last day of a tough trip is a good start in climbing back into the thick of things. "I think we had a battle today," Quintana said. "We had a couple lost series, tough series for us, but it's a good way to get back home. We'll take a win." Thursday's victory comes a day after the White Sox squandered an opportunity to gain ground when Chris Sale threw a complete game, allowing two runs over eight innings. Sale said afterwards that the mood in the clubhouse was going to remain optimistic. "We can't cash it in now," Sale said on Wednesday. "It's going to stink a whole lot more if you do that. So we come in tomorrow, try to start a new streak to get on the right foot and get us going when we get back home." The team was able to get that win, and now it has to keep grinding and chipping away. Gonzalez face O s as White Sox open homestand By Kyle Beery / MLB.com August 4th, 2016 Miguel Gonzalez takes the mound on Friday as the White Sox return home from an eight-game road trip. Gonzalez (2-5, 4.06 ERA) will face his former Orioles team for the first time since being released by Baltimore in the spring. The Orioles bring a road record to U.S. Cellular Field. The Majors' best home team has lost seven of its last nine away from Baltimore. "It's a challenge any time," manager Buck Showalter said about his team's upcoming 10-game road trip. "For one thing, you get a little break with August weather there. Trying to pull positives out of it. It's about the only one I can come up with. We're facing one of the best teams in baseball in the Giants. Oakland's playing better. The White Sox are playing better." Yovani Gallardo (3-3, 5.70 ERA), who is in search of his first win since June 29, will oppose Gonzalez. Gallardo went 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA in six July starts. Last time out, Gallardo was unable to make it through five innings for the first time since July 4. He gave up five fifth-inning runs before being chased at Toronto. Gonzalez posted a 2.50 ERA in his six July starts. He went six innings or more in all six outings, including his last time out at Minnesota when he allowed two runs (one earned) over seven innings. Things to know about this game Gonzalez went with a 3.81 ERA in four seasons ( ) with the Orioles. Baltimore released Gonzalez in late March after he went 1-4 with a 9.78 ERA in Spring Training. The White Sox and Orioles split a four-game series in Baltimore at the end of April, with Chicago winning the last two to put its record at Chicago has gone since then. Baltimore's Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez hit back-to-back homers in Thursday's series finale against the Rangers. That was 12th time this season the Orioles hit back-to-back homers -- the most in the AL.

5 White Sox bats support Jose Quintana in skid-snapping win over Tigers By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- The White Sox have provided few runs to support Jose Quintana the last four seasons. But lately, a lack of home runs for Jose Abreu has been the team s bigger issue. One led to the other on Thursday afternoon as Abreu snapped a 32-game homerless streak and the White Sox provided Quintana with a season-high for runs in a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in front in front of 33,023 at Comerica Park. Abreu s two-run shot during an early five-run rally was his first in 137 plate appearances. Avisail Garcia also homered in support of Quintana, who pitched 7 1/3 strong innings to lead the White Sox to their first road win of the season in 12 games against the Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals. I think that s actually better than Q getting some runs, they re both right up there, manager Robin Ventura said. It has been a long time and somewhere in there it has been dragging on (Abreu). His swings today were great, he s been hitting a lot of balls right on the nose, which is a good sign for him. Abreu s homer bookended a second-inning rally against Jordan Zimmerman that provided Quintana with a commanding lead. Already ahead 4-1 and on the heels of a 10-pitch walk in his first plate appearance, Abreu ripped a 90-mph fastball to left for a two-run homer and a five-run lead. When he returned to the dugout, Melky Cabrera, who earlier singled in a run, forced Abreu into giving him an impromptu piggyback ride in the dugout. The homer was the first for Abreu since June 23 at Boston. We were just happy and we were celebrating that moment, Abreu said through an interpreter. It was a long time. It was always in my mind. It was a tough time for me because I never experienced something like that in my career. I (have had) bad stretches when I didn t hit homers, but not like this. I feel relieved. Unfamiliar with such a lead, Quintana pitched well. It allowed him the chance to relax a little, but not too much against a powerful Tigers lineup. He attacked the strike zone and was extremely efficient after a rough first inning, which ended with a fantastic relay from Cabrera to Tyler Saladino to Omar Narvaez to throw out Nick Castellanos at home. Quintana, who threw strikes on 69 of 93 pitches, retired 15 of 17 starting in the second inning. He ran into some difficulty in the seventh inning when he allowed three straight singles for Detroit to get within 6-2. But Quintana retired the next three batters, including Kinsler, to prevent further damage. He allowed three earned runs and eight hits, walked one and struck out three as he improved to 9-8. Sometimes when you get a lot of runs, you can relax a little, Quintana said. (Abreu s homer) was really good for us and really good for him. It s exciting. Everybody had a lot of energy today, especially when it was hot. It was good. Everybody did a great job today. The White Sox offense didn t waste any time against Zimmerman, who lasted only 1 2/3 innings. They scored a run in the first inning on Justin Morneau s bases-loaded sac fly to capitalize on Zimmerman s wild streak. He hit Tim Anderson to start the game and later walked Abreu. Anderson scored on Morneau s sac fly to left and exited the game with a bruised left hand. X-rays were negative and the White Sox rookie shortstop is listed as day to day.

6 An inning later, Garcia put the White Sox back in front 2-1 with a 430-foot solo home run to center. Zimmerman never recovered as he allowed a Narvaez single and walked Saladino. Cabrera s one-out single pushed across a run to make it 3-1 and Adam Eaton followed with a sacrifice fly. They jumped on (Zimmerman) pretty good and that inning just kept going, Ventura said. You didn t really know where it was going, but a lot of good at-bats in that lead up to the homer that topped it off. A lot of good at-bats along the way. White Sox rookie Tim Anderson day to day with bruised left hand By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- You ve got to be bleeping me! That was essentially the thought that ran through manager Robin Ventura s head when White Sox rookie Tim Anderson was forced out of Thursday s game with an injury. Given the way White Sox rookies have dropped like flies this season, Ventura feared the worst when his shortstop was hit by a Jordan Zimmerman pitch to start the game. Anderson suffered a bruised left hand but got by relatively unscathed compared with some of his teammates. He only suffered a bruised left hand and is day to day as X-rays were negative. Kinda scary, Ventura said. It didn t sound very good. Yeah, I didn t have good thoughts when I heard it, the way things have been going. Fortunately for him and us, he s going to be fine. When it him it sounded pretty flush. Rookie injuries have become all too common around the White Sox this season. On Tuesday, rookie Charlie Tilson became the fourth White Sox rookie to suffer an injury before or during their season debut. Tilson was set to have surgery on Thursday to repair a torn left hamstring, the result of him trying to run down a Miguel Cabrera fly ball in the fifth inning of his major league debut. The freak injury followed previous ones to third baseman Matt Davidson, outfielder Jason Coats and catcher Kevan Smith. Smith was scratched from an April 25 contest in Toronto when he injured his back during pregame stretching. Coats was removed from his major league debut when he collided with J.B. Shuck in the outfield. Davidson had to leave his early when he broke his foot running the bases. Those occurrences were prominently on the mind of Anderson as the training staff checked his wrist. Anderson, who is hitting.264/.275/.398 with 10 doubles and five homers in 206 plate appearances, had his wrist wrapped in ice after a 6-3 win over Detroit. He expects to miss a few games. I was kind of worried, Anderson said. But it wasn t anything. It got more fat than bone. It was relieving to get those X-rays negative. It was a good moment, but a bad moment at the same time. I got kind of scared a little bit, but I dodged a big bullet, so it s good.

7 Adam Eaton hits third as White Sox try to shake up offense By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago August 4th, 2016 DETROIT The White Sox offense continues to struggle even as the lineup features more balance than it has had all season. With 57 runs scored in 19 games since the All-Star break, including one or fewer eight times, manager Robin Ventura intends to move hitters around. He began to experiment with his lineup on Thursday when Adam Eaton batted third for the first time in his career. You re trying to mix it up and find something that feels a little bit different, but they still feel confident in being able to score runs and do some things, maybe run a little bit freer running game and let them go, Ventura said. At this point the White Sox are desperate for anything to go right. Once a.500 club, the White Sox are in a free fall having lost six of their last seven games. A team that started with a record now sits at a season-low five games under.500. The offense s issues have been at the heart of the team s struggles. Even with the addition of Justin Morneau, who gives them a consistent left-handed bat in the middle, the White Sox haven t hit. The team is averaging 3.97 runs per game on the season, just a tick up from 2015 when they averaged Part of their recent drop off is the continued struggles of first baseman Jose Abreu. Though he still has an OPS-plus of 103 (100 is average), Abreu hasn t been the force the White Sox have come to know the previous two seasons. He s third on the team with 11 home runs, not having hit one since June 23 in Boston. Since the All-Star break, Abreu is hitting.254/.324/.328 with four RBIs in 74 plate appearances. Eaton is hitting.272/.359/.408 on the season with eight homers and 37 RBIs. He fancies himself a three-hole hitter, so I think especially the way the offense has been going, you try to mix it up enough to see if something clicks with them, Ventura said. The way he swings, he s hitting a couple more homers than usual, and I think it s a good spot for him. He has been such a good leadoff hitter and two-hole, that you know that s a good spot for him. But right now, I think he can drive in some runs too. White Sox: James Shields unhappy with Padres owner s critical comments By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- James Shields has once again taken exception with the comments of his former team s owner. While he understands that San Diego Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler is frustrated by his team s poor performance, the White Sox pitcher said Thursday his effort should never have been called into question. Fowler was once again critical of his former players in response to the comments made earlier this week by Matt Kemp in The Players Tribune. Kemp, who was traded to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, said he had built a reputation for being selfish, lazy and a bad teammate. Fowler, who previously singled Shields out in a June radio interview, ripped some of his highest-salaried players, many whom have been traded, in a San Diego Union-Tribune story on Thursday. I ll be damned if we re going to pay high-priced talent to sit on their butts and not perform, Fowler said.

8 Though he wasn t directly named in this current round of criticism, the comments didn t sit well with Shields, who was traded to the White Sox in early June in exchange for Erik Johnson and minor leaguer Fernando Tatis Jr. (Fowler and Kemp) have their own deal and he has his own thoughts about him, so I m not going to comment on that, Shields said. But one thing I do know is, I hope he s not putting me in that category as far as not trying. You can ask anybody around the league, let alone in the San Diego organization -- I worked my butt off every single day. I prepared myself the way I needed to prepare myself on a daily basis. And I pour my heart out every time I pitch on the mound. Fowler has been critical of his team twice in the past few months, including on the team s flagship radio station shortly after Shields was tattooed for 10 runs in his final start with the Padres on May 31. On Thursday, Fowler said he s happy to have rid the franchise of Kemp and others. We made a conscious decision to ship them out because we want people that are prepared to improve, Fowler said. If you re making a lot of money and you think you re already there, you re not going to get better. They had a bad attitude. You saw Kemp s letter. Talk about a bunch of b.s. Most of em are gone, thank God. Shields signed a four-year, $75-million deal with San Diego ahead of the 2015 season. He made 44 starts for the Padres and went with a 4.00 ERA in 269 2/3 innings. Until his final Padres start, Shields was in the midst of a strong campaign with a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts. A Southern California native who now resides in San Diego, Shields said he enjoyed his time with the Padres. But he can t wrap his head around how he previously was singled out and is once again attached to Fowler s ire. The Padres owe Shields $22 million of the $44 million left on his contract over the next two seasons. I understand his reasoning and frustration, Shields said. With the situation with me, I felt it was unnecessary to call me out just for my one bad outing. I know his frustrations were more or less on the team. But to call me out individually -- he had no respect for me as a player. The one thing I do know is that whenever I stepped foot on the mound, I was there to win and there was no lack of effort whatsoever on my part. It s unfortunate. That s a great city. The fans are amazing. They want to win. They want a winner over there. It s unfortunate the way it happened. I m not happy about the way that it happened because we did have some really good players. I do know one thing -- I can talk on behalf of myself and I put in as good of an effort as I have my whole career. Thursday s recap: White Sox 6, Tigers 3 By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune August 4th, 2016 Jose Abreu hit his first home run since June 23 to help the White Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park. Abreu went a career-high 32 games since he last homered against the Red Sox in Boston. His two-run shot to left field came against struggling Tigers right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, who was making his first start since June 30 after time on the disabled list with a right neck strain. Zimmermann lasted just 1 2/3 innings, surrendering six earned runs on six hits, as the Sox halted a seven-game losing streak at Comerica Park.

9 At the plate Avisail Garcia also homered his third in three games at Comerica Park and Justin Morneau, Melky Cabrera and Adam Eaton all drove in runs for the early lead. On the mound Sox left-hander Jose Quintana gave up a leadoff home run to Ian Kinsler that tied the game at 1-1 in the first. He retired 15 of 17 batters from the second to the sixth innings before the Tigers struck again. Three straight singles, including Tyler Collins RBI single to center field, cut the Sox lead to 6-2 in the seventh. Miguel Cabrera ended Quintana s day when he hit a solo home run with one out in the eighth. Quintana allowed three earned runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. Injury report Sox shortstop Tim Anderson left the game with a bruised left hand after he was hit by Zimmermann s fourth pitch of the game. X-rays were negative, and the Sox announced him as day to day. The quote You get frustrated, but they put it out of their minds pretty good when they get to the ballpark the next day, Sox manager Robin Ventura said. That s the biggest thing, you have to wash that away. At least for the pitcher going today, he doesn t want to see the guys going out there not feeling like they re ready to play. They re ready to play. Results are one thing, but attitude s another one. Jose Abreu snaps 32-game homerless streak to lead White Sox to victory By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune August 4th, 2016 When Jose Abreu finally ended his home drought Thursday, he had gone 41 days, 32 games and 137 plate appearances without one, the longest stretch of the White Sox first baseman's career. When he put a Jordan Zimmermann fastball over the fence in left field in the second inning of a 6-3 victory over the Tigers at Comerica Park, he gave teammate Melky Cabrera a ride on his back in the dugout in jubilation. He had the strength for that with all of the weight off his shoulders. "We were celebrating, especially for me because I was waiting for that for a long time," Abreu said through a team interpreter. "(The streak) was always in my mind. It was a tough time because I never had experienced something like that. I was in bad stretches when I didn't hit homers, but not like this." Abreu, who totaled 66 home runs in his first two major-league seasons, last homered June 23 against the Red Sox in Boston. Thursday's two-run shot to cap the Sox's five-run second inning was his 12th of the year. Afterward, he thanked hitting coaches Todd Steverson and Greg Sparks for helping out during the stretch, but he said he has been battling more than mechanics. "The mechanical things I went through with the hitting coach, but my priority was to always keep my mind strong because that's a big factor," Abreu said. "When you're an athlete, your mind is the big thing for you."

10 The victory broke a seven-game Sox losing streak at Comerica Park. Zimmermann was making his first start since June 30 after time on the disabled list with a right neck strain, and he left the game after giving up six earned runs over 12/3 innings. The Tigers told reporters afterward he would undergo an MRI for right lat muscle tightness. Abreu wasn't the only one to break out in the Tigers series. Avisail Garcia homered for the third time in three games at Comerica Park accounting for 33 percent of his homers this season. His solo shot to center field off Zimmermann sparked the Sox's second-inning run. Justin Morneau, Cabrera and Adam Eaton also drove in runs for a 6-1 lead after two innings and the most run support left-hander Jose Quintana has received all season. "(Abreu's homer) is actually better than 'Q' getting some runs, they're both right up there," Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "It has been a long time (for Abreu) and somewhere in there it has been dragging on him. His swings today were great. He has been hitting a lot of balls right on the nose, which is a good sign for him." Quintana allowed three earned runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 71/3 innings. He gave up a leadoff home run to Ian Kinsler that tied the game 1-1 but retired 15 of 17 batters from the second to the sixth innings before the Tigers struck again. Tyler Collins' RBI single to center field cut the Sox lead to 6-2 in the seventh. Miguel Cabrera ended Quintana's day when he homered with one out in the eighth. "Sometimes when you get a lot of runs, you can relax a little," Quintana said. "I just tried to think the game was close, like 0-0, and try to throw the ball well and get outs. All of my stuff was working good, especially strike one." Rookie Tim Anderson dodged big bullet after being hit by pitch on hand By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune August 4th, 2016 Four of six White Sox rookie position players were injured in or before their debuts this season, but shortstop Tim Anderson escaped that bad luck when he made it through his first big-league start in June unscathed. Anderson still couldn't help but feel scared when Jordan Zimmermann's fourth pitch of Thursday's 6-3 Sox victory at Comerica Park hit him in his left hand. He stayed in the game to score the Sox's first run on Justin Morneau's bases-loaded sacrifice fly, but he exited in the bottom of the first. The news, however, was better for Anderson than some of his rookie teammates. X-rays were negative on Anderson's bruised left hand and he is day to day. He said the ball hit him on the muscle on the side of his hand rather than the bone. "I was scared a little bit, but I dodged a big bullet, so it's good," Anderson said. Anderson's exit came two days after outfielder Charlie Tilson tore his left hamstring during his majorleague debut against the Tigers. Matt Davidson fractured his right foot in his season debut, catcher Kevan Smith was scratched with a back injury before his big-league debut and Jason Coats left his first majorleague start early after a collision in the outfield.

11 Anderson and catcher Omar Narvaez were the only Sox rookie position players to make it through their debuts. "I didn't have good thoughts when I heard it (hit him), the way things have been going," Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Fortunately for him and us, he's going to be fine." Just how bad has it been for rookies making their White Sox debuts this season? Charlie Tilson on Tuesday became the fourth player to be injured in or before his first game with the South Siders. Olympic memories: Ventura played on the 1988 U.S. Olympic baseball team that won a gold medal in Seoul, South Korea, and he reminisced about the "great experience" after hearing baseball would return to the Olympics in "All of us hold a soft spot in our heart for that," Ventura said. "You win a gold medal and have a lot of friends for life. There are a lot of stories that went on around, stuff that we did that hopefully nobody ever will know about. But it was very funny for us." Injury reports: Ventura said catcher Alex Avila, who has a strained right hamstring, has been hitting fine but still is unable to run as needed to return. The Sox are being extra cautious with Avila, who re-injured his hamstring before he was able to make a return late last month. Second baseman Brett Lawrie is dealing with fluid in his left knee that is causing discomfort and making his recovery longer than expected, Ventura said. White Sox catch a break, and get a win By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times August 4th, 2016 DETROIT After left-hander Zach Duke got traded Sunday, he couldn t help but marvel what it must be like to have seen the 2016 White Sox from the outside. He closed his exit interview with Sox media with a smile, noting the bizarre stories that had already been covered with two months left in the season. There was the Drake LaRoche saga during spring training, which became a national story when his father, designated hitter Adam LaRoche, retired after being told his uniformed son couldn t spend as much time in the clubhouse. After a start and the nosedive that followed, staff ace Chris Sale tore up 1970s throwback uniforms he didn t want to wear and was sent home, missing his start against the Tigers and serving a five game suspension. Somehow, that one topped the LaRoche debacle in kooky points. And then this week, Charlie Tilson, the St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect acquired for Duke, tore his hamstring trying to run down a fly ball five innings into his first major league game. Tilson was the fourth Sox injured during or before his major league debut this season, which, on a probability scale, somehow tops the LaRoche-Sale incidents on a things you ll never see again scale. So when rookie Tim Anderson left Thursday s 6-3 victory over the Tigers after getting hit by a pitch from right-hander Jordan Zimmermann on the left hand, everyone who has followed the Sox this year feared the worst. But, exhale, X-Rays were negative, the Sox broke loose with five runs in the second inning and went on to stop the Tigers eight-game winning streak. For the AL-Centrally challenged Sox, it was their first win in 12 road games against the Tigers, Indians and Royals. Yeah, I didn t have good thoughts when I heard it [hit the left side of Anderson s left hand], the way things have been going, manager Robin Ventura said. When it hit him it sounded pretty flush.

12 Anderson, a former first-rounder and one of the only Sox prospects showing much of anything, said he ll probably miss a few days with a bruise. He was scared at first. I was relieved to get those X-Rays, Anderson said, echoing sentiments of everyone in an organization that has endured a brutal couple of months. Yeah, I was kind of worried, Anderson said. But it wasn t anything. It got more fat than bone. Anderson stayed in the game but left after scoring on Justin Morneau s sacrifice fly. In the second, the Sox clobbered Zimmerman for five more runs, including Jose Abreu s first homer in 32 games and Avisail Garcia s third of the series against his former team. All three for Garcia traveled more than 400 feet. The beneficiary was the run-support challenged Jose Quintana (9-8), who gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, Ian Kinsler, and the last, Miguel Cabrera. In between Quintana (three runs allowed) was strong. The win snapped the Tigers eight-game winning streak and halted the Sox skid of seven straight losses at Comerica Park and three losses overall. The Sox also hadn t won on the road this year in their first 11 tries against the best teams in the AL Central Indians, Royals and Tigers. At 52-56, the Sox return home for the weekend to play the Orioles before hitting the road again for a ninegame trip including series in Kansas City and Cleveland. They completed an eight-game road trip including two games against the Cubs at 2-6 and have won only seven of their last 21 overall. Quintana called the run support amazing and Ventura was looking forward to a flight home for once. The Sox have had some rough ones this year, and not because of turbulence. It s nice when guys swing the bat like that and Q gets a win, Ventura said. Jose Abreu snaps 32-game homerless skid By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times August 4th, 2016 DETROIT During his 32-game stretch without a home run, Jose Abreu said he wasn t concerned about the lack of power. Turns out he was only hiding his frustration. It was always in my mind, Abreu admitted after hitting a home run to left field against Jordan Zimmermann in the second inning of the White Sox 6-3 victory Thursday over the Detroit Tigers. It was a tough time for me because I never experienced something like that in my career. I was in bad stretches when I didn t hit homers but not like this. I feel relieved. Abreu had made 137 plate appearances since he homered over the Green Monster at Fenway Park on June 23. This one was his 12th, a far cry from the 36 and 30 he launched in his first two seasons in the major leagues. Melky Cabrera jumped on his back in the dugout and stayed there after Abreu s first home run trot, which started with a fist pump for teammates as he rounded first. I was very happy, he was happy too, Abreu said. I was waiting for that for a long time. His swings today were great, manager Robin Ventura said.

13 His getting that homer was even bigger than us getting runs for [Jose Quintana]. Right on Q Jose Quintana s ERA is at 2.93, even better than staff ace Chris Sale. In his last six starts, it s People are talking about him now. They should have been a couple years ago, pitching coach Don Cooper said. Now people are jumping on it, but he s been good since he s been here. He doesn t stop improving. We say how can we get him better? And he finds a way. He s a coach s dream, totally prepared, works hard and when he s all done he s going to know he got everything out of his God-given ability. Quintana improved to 9-8 and will likely reach double digit victories for the first time in his career, even though he has posted ERAs of 3.76, 3.51, 3.32 and 3.36 his first four seasons. Eaton bats third Adam Eaton, who has batted first or second this season, batted third for the first time in his career and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. He fancies himself a three-hole hitter, so especially the way the offense has been going, you try to mix it up enough to see if something clicks with them, Ventura said. The way he swings, he s hitting a couple more homers than usual, and I think it s a good spot for him. Look for the Sox to stay with it at least for a short time. It s not every day they score six runs. Lawrie s ham-knee Brett Lawrie, eligible to come off the disabled list this weekend, doesn t seem close to getting back on the field soon. Lawrie is on the DL with left hamstring strain but his knee is an issue as well. There s fluid in there, Ventura said. He doesn t feel right and that is taking a little longer than anticipated. It s somewhere in the knee. I don t know if it s actually inside the knee but he can t pinpoint where he s feeling it. This and that David Robertson, who gave up three homers to the Tigers last time he faced them, converted his 26th save in 30 opportunities, facing three batters in the ninth. *DH Justin Morneau has reached base in 11 of his last 12 games. White Sox Anderson leaves game with bruised left hand By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times August 4th, 2016 DETROIT Rookie shortstop Tim Anderson left the White Sox 6-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers Thursday with a bruised left hand after getting hit by a pitch from Tigers right-hander Jordan Zimmermann. X-Rays were negative, and Anderson is day-to-day.

14 Anderson, the Sox leadoff man, was struck on the hand in the first inning. After getting checked by trainer Herm Schneider and manager Robin Ventura, he stayed in the game and eventually scored on Justin Morneau s sacrifice fly. But Anderson did not take the field in the bottom of the first. Tyler Saladino moved from second base to shortstop and Carlos Sanchez entered the game at second base. The Sox lost rookie outfielder Charlie Tilson to a season ending hamstring injury Tuesday. Tilson was the fourth Sox rookie to get hurt before or during his debut this season. Anderson is batting.269 with five homers and 12 RBI. The Sox led the Tigers 6-1 after scoring five runs in the second. Avisail Garcia hit his third homer of the series against his former team and Jose Abreu snapped a streak of 137 consecutive plate appearances without a home run by clearing the left-field wall against Zimmerman. Abreu has 12 homers this season. White Sox beat Tigers 6-3, snapping Detroit s streak at 8 By Noah Trister / Associated Press August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- Jose Abreu's home run drought had lasted over a month, and the Chicago slugger was well aware. "It was a tough time for me, because I've never experienced something like that in my career," Abreu said through a translator. "Bad stretches when I couldn't hit homers, but not a long bad stretch like this." Abreu can stop worrying about it now. He and Avisail Garcia both went deep in a five-run second inning, and the White Sox chased Jordan Zimmermann early in his return from the disabled list, snapping Detroit's eight-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory over the Tigers on Thursday. Abreu's two-run shot was his first homer since June 23. "It's been a long time, and I think somewhere in there, it's been dragging on him," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "I think his swings today were great, and he hit a lot of balls right on the nose, which is a good sign for him." Zimmermann (9-5) had been out since June 30 because of a right neck strain, and now a lat issue has come up. The right-hander was to have an MRI, and the Tigers were taking a wait-and-see approach on his next start. "His lat was a little bit tight, not really related to what the issue was when he was on the DL," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "He just couldn't seem to get loose. There was no pain, he was just having trouble getting extended and locating the ball." Zimmermann allowed six runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings, failing to strike out a batter. Jose Quintana (9-8) allowed three runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. David Robertson pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 30 chances, and Chicago won for only the second time in eight games. Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler homered for Detroit, but the Tigers fell to three games behind AL Centralleading Cleveland. Zimmermann labored through the first, allowing a run on Justin Morneau's sacrifice fly, but it was the second inning that was his undoing. Garcia homered into the second level of bushes beyond the wall in center field to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. Not long after that, trainer Kevin Rand went to the mound to check on Zimmermann, but the right-hander remained in the game.

15 Melky Cabrera added an RBI single, and Adam Eaton hit a sacrifice fly. Abreu then made it 6-1 with a drive to left. It was Zimmermann's shortest outing since he also went 1 2/3 innings for Washington against Miami on April 9, MORE SUPPORT Quintana had received one run or fewer of support in nine of his previous 14 starts. He protected the big lead without much drama Thursday after a shaky first inning. POWER Kinsler's homer was his 21st of the season and Miguel Cabrera's was his 25th. Kinsler's leadoff homer tied the game at 1, and the Tigers nearly scored again in the first on J.D. Martinez's double, but the relay home was in time to retire Nick Castellanos for the third out. In the seventh, the Tigers scored on an RBI single by Tyler Collins, and Miguel Cabrera hit his solo shot an inning later. TRAINER'S ROOM White Sox: Rookie SS Tim Anderson left in the first inning with a bruised left hand after being hit by a pitch. X-rays were negative. Tigers: OF Cameron Maybin sat out with a sprained left thumb. UP NEXT White Sox: Chicago hosts Baltimore for three games. Miguel Gonzalez (2-5) of the White Sox faces Yovani Gallardo (3-3) of the Orioles on Friday night. Tigers: Justin Verlander (11-6) takes the mound against Noah Syndergaard (9-5) in the opener of a threegame series against the New York Mets. White Sox rookie Anderson leaves after being hit by pitch Associated Press August 4th, 2016 DETROIT -- Chicago White Sox rookie Tim Anderson has left Thursday's game at Detroit in the first inning with a bruised left hand after being hit by a pitch. X-rays were negative. Anderson was leading off the game when he was hit by Jordan Zimmermann's pitch. He was able to stay in initially and eventually came around to score a run, but he was removed when the White Sox took the field. Second baseman Tyler Saladino moved over to replace Anderson at shortstop, and Carlos Sanchez went in to play second. Anderson is hitting.264 with five home runs and 12 RBIs since being called up from the minors in June.

16 Hawk can t stop talking about the White Sox schedule By Lauren Comitor / The Athletic August 4th, 2016 Even if you can t stand White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson, you can t deny he s good for a laugh. His in-game comments, if you pay close enough attention, can be way out-there, like when, during the Cubs-Sox series, he incorrectly identified Addison Russell as a Latin player. During Tuesday night s White Sox loss, after the Tigers scored one of their two runs, Harrelson mumbled under his breath, Wish our guys could do some of that. If you re a crazy Sox fan, it s probably like listening to your own inner monologue. But one thing Harrelson will not let up about is the team s schedule during the early part of the season. He lamented it constantly after the Sox slumped following a start and he still can t let it go. During his hit on 670 The Score s Mully and Hanley Show on Thursday morning, Harrelson was asked a question about the trade deadline and the state of the Sox right now. He told the guys he was a bit under the weather and he was having trouble talking, but he didn t let that stop him from going on and on. Harrelson briefly answered the first part, and then dove into his usual diatribe about the team s unfair schedule and how it hurt the Sox early on. The bullpen in April was the best bullpen in major league baseball, and in May it was the worst, he said. Now there s only two ways that can happen. Either with injuries, which we didn t have any, or with scheduling. The schedule makers stuck it up our behind this year. We had one off day in April, we had three in May but two of those came later on, so in essence we played a month and a half with only one off day. And I told my wife, I said, This is the worst thing I ve ever seen in Major League Baseball.' Let s rewind. The Sox started the season like this: six games, off day, one game, off day, 19 straight games, off day. During that 19-game stretch, the Sox went 13-6, playing 12 games on the road in Minnesota, Tampa, Toronto and Baltimore, with seven home games in between their six- and sevengame road trips (they had an off day in Minnesota). This is the longest stretch of games on consecutive days for the Sox during the entire 2016 season. I m sure every team has some quibbles about their schedule. Take the Cubs, for instance, who played 24 games in 24 days prior to the All-Star break and went Afterward, Ben Zobrist publicly called for a new rule that would prevent that kind of schedule overload. But unlike Zobrist, Harrelson appears unable to move on. A few minutes after his first schedule rant, Harrelson was asked a question about the strange occurrences that have plagued the White Sox this season, including the rash of injuries in rookie debuts, particularly Charlie Tilson s season-ending injury that occurred Tuesday. Isn t that awful, Hawk? Well sure, but what s really awful is that dang schedule! He went on and on, again, lamenting instead the season-ending injuries to relievers Jake Petricka and Daniel Webb and the early-season wear and tear on the bullpen. As if there were no other reasons the bullpen might have been overworked hmm. But no, it s not an excuse, he said. It was the way the schedule started off with one off day in April. (They actually had two.) He compared the Sox s schedule plight to that of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who actually only had one day off in April before playing a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. But they have a dome, Harrelson said, so it s different.

17 Harrelson lives in his own little world, with basically no chance of ever joining us in reality. What fun would a levelheaded Hawk really be? In case you re wondering if this will ever end, you re not in luck Harrelson said he s enjoying his road game-only schedule and sounded optimistic about working next season, schedule makers be damned. The only thing that can slow down Harrelson? The common cold. After struggling through Thursday s game with a scratchy voice, Harrelson raised the white flag and let his partner Steve Stone carry the telecast. Chuck Hawk Harrelson is playing hurt today. Bad cold. Steve Stone is going solo. Hawk can t stop talking about the White Sox schedule By Joe Sheehan / The Athletic August 4th, 2016 The trade deadline is behind us, and the trade deadline is approaching. No, we re not being philosophical, or describing some kind of trade deadline Mobius strip. Monday s trade deadline was the non-waiver trade deadline, before which teams are free to do whatever they want with any the players they have under contract. From now until the end of the season for practical matters, Aug. 31 teams can still make trades, but only after putting players on waivers first. Players who clear waivers who are passed up by every team in the league can be traded anywhere. Players who are claimed on waivers can be released to the claiming team (the team with the worst record who claimed a player wins the claim) or pulled back, but then can only be traded to that team. Up to the 1980s, this was a formality; teams simply didn t claim players on waivers in August, a kind of gentleman s agreement. Some GMs began breaking this agreement so that their rivals wouldn t be able to add talent down the stretch, claiming players likely to be desired by their opponents. This isn t without risk; these waivers, known as revocable waivers, give the waiving team the option of pulling the player back or just letting him go to a new team. In 1998, the Padres got burned when after claiming high-priced, underperforming reliever Randy Myers, owed $13 million through 2000, the Blue Jays merely let the Padres have Myers for nothing. The White Sox claimed Alex Rios from the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 10, 2009 with a minimum of $61.6 million left on his contract. He wound up playing 599 games for the Sox before going through waivers and getting traded to the Texas Rangers on Aug. 9, Because these waivers are revocable, you ll see just about everyone this side of Willie Mays on them. It s just teams trying to find out how much trade value their players might have and laying the groundwork for potential deals. The Angels will probably put Mike Trout on revocable waivers. It doesn t mean anything. There are two ways to make August trades. One is with players who clear waivers completely. These tend to be players whose contract obligations far exceed the value of their play. The entire Yankee roster, for example; Jacoby Ellsbury will clear waivers. Chase Headley will clear waivers. While players such as Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira will also clear, keep in mind that waiver claims cannot be used as a backdoor to get around no-trade clauses or 10-and-five rights. If, oh, the White Sox claim Rodriguez the White Sox won t claim Rodriguez the Yankees can t just let him go to Chicago without getting his permission. A lot of players fall into this category. Albert Pujols, 36 and owed $148 million or so through 2021, will clear waivers. Ellsbury is 32 and owed about $96 million through Prince Fielder has a spinal problem and is owed another $104 million or so through The worst contracts in baseball hold an