Lance Lynn delivers during Sunday’s game.
Getty
Lance Lynn and Tim Anderson will need to be key pieces if the White Sox hope to overcome their miserable start and actually contend. Neither have played to their own standards, and anything close would be a boost to the Sox.
On Sunday, one of them looked like their old self, while the other didn’t have much of a chance to contribute. Luis Robert Jr., meanwhile, continued his torrid May.
Lynn threw six innings and allowed two runs in the Sox’ 5-2 win over the Royals, giving them their first series sweep of the season and a 6-3 homestand. Robert’s fourth-inning homer was his eighth of the month and 13th of the year, eclipsing his total from 2022.
The Sox rotation has been a reason for the team’s relative improvement, and Lynn’s outing was the team’s sixth consecutive quality start. Lynn, who had a 7.16 ERA in March/April, won for the third time in four starts and has given up three earned runs over his past 13 innings pitched.
Unfortunately for the Sox, Lynn and his fellow starters will need to step up further because of something announced Sunday.
Minutes before the game, the Sox placed Mike Clevinger on the 15-day injured list with right wrist inflammation, retroactive to May 18. Clevinger, who was scheduled to start Monday in Cleveland, is 3-3 with a 4.56 ERA and was spotted wearing a brace on his right hand.
The Sox will announce a corresponding move prior to Monday’s game.
As for Anderson, he didn’t start and was replaced in the lineup by Romy Gonzalez. Gonzalez justified the decision with a go-ahead two-run triple in the fifth, but anything they get from him is a bonus.
That isn’t true for the scuffling Anderson, who entered Sunday 1 for 12 over his past three games and 8 for 34 on the homestand, and also made a key error in Thursday’s loss to the Guardians.
Manager Pedro Grifol, however, said Anderson didn’t sit because he’s struggling.
“He’s getting a day off because we feel his body needs to recover,” Grifol said. “He’s played a lot of games in a row. We don’t necessarily take players of his caliber out because they’re scuffling. That’s not what we do. We give players a day because their body needs it. They need to recover. That’s where we’re at.”
Anderson did enter the game as a defensive replacement in the sixth when Hanser Alberto departed with left shoulder soreness. In the seventh, he singled against Royals pitcher Max Castillo and scored on an Andrew Benintendi single.
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/AxoKP1B
No comments:
Post a Comment