White Sox Headlines of September 23, 2017
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WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF SEPTEMBER 23, 2017 “Covey looks to impress Sox in clash with KC” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “White Sox close out Royals with 9-2-4-6 DP” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Moncada's go-ahead HR sends Sox past KC”… Jeffrey Flanagan & Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Soto thinking about his family in Puerto Rico” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Avisail Garcia's 'big head' isn't getting in the way of defensive improvements” … Tim Goldrick, CSN Chicago “Forget about it: Yoan Moncada's ability to play through mistakes” … Tim Goldrick, CSN Chicago “Geovany Soto details ‘total destruction’ of Puerto Rico after speaking with family” … Tim Gold rick, CSN Chicago “Carson Fulmer wants one more start for White Sox this season” … Tim Goldrick, CSN Chicago “White Sox climb out of AL Central cellar with 7-6 victory over Royals” … Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune “Geovany Soto's family in Puerto Rico 'in good spirits' after hurricane” … Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune “Crazy double play caps win for White Sox, who move out of basement” … Tom Musick, Chicago Sun-Times “Juan Minaya savors closer role with White Sox” … Tom Musick, Chicago Sun-Times “Garcia sparks game-ending double play as White Sox edge Royals” … Scot Gregor, Daily Herald “Soto says family in Puerto Rico OK after Hurricane Maria” … Scot Gregor, Daily Herald “By the numbers: Yoan Moncada's power surge caps four-run comeback” … James Fegan, The Athletic “Geovany Soto one of many Puerto Rican players isolated from family after Hurricane Maria” … James Fegan, The Athletic “White Sox Insider: Luis Basabe shows progress even during a difficult season”… James Fegan, The Athletic “Hahn’s Perspective as Phase One Comes to an End” … WLS Staff Covey looks to impress Sox in clash with KC By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | September 23, 2017 A first victory, of sorts, is on the line when the Royals continue their postseason push against the White Sox square on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field. For Royals ace Danny Duffy, it would be his first victory against the White Sox this season. Though Duffy is 0-3 with a 9.56 ERA against them in 2017, he is 6-5 with a 4.28 ERA all time vs. the White Sox. Full Game Coverage Kansas City, which dropped a 7-6 decision in the series opener on Friday, is 4 1/2 games back of Minnesota for the second American League Wild Card spot. Dylan Covey, making his 11th start of the season for the White Sox, is looking for his first Major League win, not to mention his first quality start and first 100-pitch outing. He is 0-6 with an 8.23 ERA, .321 opponents' average and 1.81 WHIP over 10 starts. Covey, a Rule 5 Draft pick from the A's, has a 7.94 ERA in six relief appearances. "He's another young man who's got definitely some sink to his repertoire. We're hoping he can command the zone a lot more," manager Rick Renteria said. "We need more strikes out of him. We still have one or two more starts left for him and we'd like to see where that's at before we make any kind of determination. "Obviously he's got a very good arm and any time you spend the time some of these guys have at the Major League level, you're gaining something. You're gaining some knowledge. You're gaining some confidence. You're gaining an understanding of what's going on here and some of the things you're going to have to improve upon." Three things to know about this game • Duffy started on Sunday against the Indians at Progressive Field in his first outing back from the disabled list (low-grade pronator strain). He was strong, going five innings while giving up just one hit and striking out eight. Duffy threw 62 pitches in that first outing back and his workload likely will increase to the 80-85 pitch range on Saturday. • Tim Anderson takes a career-high 13-game hitting streak into Saturday's contest. It's also the longest current streak in the Majors. • Jose Abreu needs two RBIs for 100. He would join Albert Pujols and Joe DiMaggio as the only players to begin their careers with four straight seasons of at least 25 home runs and 100 RBIs. White Sox close out Royals with 9-2-4-6 DP Garcia's throw gets Merrifield at plate; Cain out at second By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | @scottmerkin | September 22, 2017 CHICAGO -- Whit Merrifield froze. Lorenzo Cain hesitated and Avisail Garcia fell down in right field. Those three components were just part of a crazy 9-2-4-6 game-ending double play for the White Sox in a 7-6 win over the Royals on Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. "They are all unique," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of the finish. "That's the cliche: That's the beauty of baseball. You never know what you're going to see on a given day." With the fleet-footed Merrifield on second and one out, Cain lined a single to right off closer Juan Minaya. Garcia charged the ball and slipped a little after gloving it, but he righted himself in time to throw a one-hop strike to catcher Omar Narvaez. Narvaez had to come up the first-base side a bit to grab the throw, but he appeared to come back and apply the tag just before Merrifield hit the back of the plate. Cain, meanwhile, hesitated and broke for second. But the throw from Narvaez to second baseman Yoan Moncada covering first to shortstop Tim Anderson nailed Cain at second for the final out. Replay confirmed both out calls. "I could feel him [tag] me on my shoulder," Merrifield said. "I couldn't tell from second base [if the ball went through], you can't really tell the angle, so I froze for a minute to see it get through. Once it got through, I hauled it home. They made a good play. That's how it ended. "Once [third-base coach Mike Jirschele] saw [Garcia] slip, he was waving me the whole way. He made a good play. If he slipped and got up, and made that throw, tip your hat to him. That's a good play." According to Statcast™, Garcia's throw home at 97.7 mph was his second-hardest tracked throw and hardest tracked assist this year. Garcia nailed Alex Gordon at the plate to end the sixth inning on Merrifield's single to right, but the ninth- inning play had a little more drama. "Just stand up and throw because when you think about it, that's when you throw the ball somewhere else," Garcia said. "So, you just got to do it. You don't have to think about it. I just tried to throw the ball as quick as I can because he's a fast runner. So, that's what I did." "The kid has a strong arm out there," Cain said. "He made a strong throw." Cain took the blame for the game ending on his slide at second. He hesitated around first when the throw went home, and said he has to clean that up and keep running in the situation. Anderson completed the festivities with a great catch and tag on Moncada's slightly rushed throw. "Definitely strange," Anderson said of the ending. "Just catch him and tag him." "A little bit of excitement," Garcia said. "But thank God we had the two outs and we won the game. That's most important." Moncada's go-ahead HR sends Sox past KC By Jeffrey Flanagan and Scott Merkin / MLB.com | September 22, 2017 CHICAGO -- Rookies Yoan Moncada and Matt Davidson hit home runs and the White Sox scored five unanswered runs for a 7-6 win over the Royals on Friday night, but it was the way the game ended at Guaranteed Rate Field that will have everyone talking. It ended in dramatic fashion on a double play when Whit Merrifield was thrown out at home trying to score from second base on a single to right field by Lorenzo Cain, who was thrown out trying to advance to second. The Royals challenged the out call at home and both calls wound up being reviewed and confirmed. Right fielder Avisail Garcia actually slipped after grabbing Cain's liner on a couple hops. But Merrifield had to hold at second to make sure the liner got through the infield. Third-base coach Mike Jirschele sent Merrifield after he saw the slip. "I couldn't tell from second base, you can't really tell the angle, so I froze for a minute to see it get through," Merrifield said. "Once it got through, I hauled it home. They made a good play. That's how it ended." The loss dealt another severe blow to the Royals, who fell 4 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second American League Wild Card spot with nine games left. "Obviously, when he slipped, we took a little gasp," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "But we were talking about his body control to be able to maintain himself enough to get up and make the throw that he did. Unbelievable." According to Statcast™, Garcia's throw home was measured at 97.7 mph. Said Royals manager Ned Yost, "My attention was on the ball hit to Garcia and when he slipped, I'm thinking, 'This game is tied.' Then, my mind is racing to all about the pitching matchups.